


A Magic to Melt A Heart (TinCan)

by Kitomiki



Category: Lovebychance, aepete, lbc - Fandom, meanplan - Fandom, tincan - Fandom
Genre: Adventure, College, Comedy, LBC, M/M, Magic, MeanPlan, Romance, Tincan, aepete - Freeform, boyslove, lovebychance - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-23
Updated: 2019-08-18
Packaged: 2019-08-25 08:25:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 64
Words: 150,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16657591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kitomiki/pseuds/Kitomiki
Summary: In L.B.C College, a special school for gifted magical users, the rivalry between the two faction has started to get heated.Tin, who is attending this school, is the succeeding heir of the  E.A. Groomed by his father, Tin has grown to despise the B.S.G. He wants to take his group's rightful place on top of the hierarchy and end the long-lasting rivalry for once by destroying the enemy faction. He is not only feared by others but he is also admired for his power, intelligence, and charisma. His arrogance and cold demeanor earned him the title of 'Ice Prince.'Can, who is a beast summoner and attending the same school as Tin,  is considered eccentric due to his overindulgent nature towards his summoned beasts yet people find him adorable. This allowed him to earn some admirers. Although he is a little famous in the university, he does not have a lot of friends. He would rather hang out with his beasts most of the time than socializing with other students. He does not worry himself about the rivalry between E.A and B.S.G because quite frankly he is more worried about how he can feed his beasts until they are satisfied!What would happen if the ice prince and the adorable beast summoner meet?





	1. Complete Summary

(Complete Summary)

In a world where magic exists, two groups competed to become the dominant magical force of the world: the elementalists and beast summoners. The rivalry of these two groups that existed long time ago ended when Tin's grandfather, who was the leader of the Elementalist Association (E.A), took the initiative to forge a peace treaty with the Beast Summoner Guild (B.S.G). Even though the battle for dominance was over, the remnants of hatred for each other still persisted. When Tin's father took over the E.A, he desired to break the peace treaty and secretly plot against the B.S.G.

Although the rumors about the nullification of the peace treaty have spread, the rivalry of the two factions at the moment has diminished except in one place.

In L.B.C College, a special school for gifted magical users, the rivalry between the two faction has started to get heated.

Tin, who is attending this school, is the succeeding heir of the E.A. Groomed by his father, Tin has grown to despise the B.S.G. He wants to take his group's rightful place on top of the hierarchy and end the long-lasting rivalry for once by destroying the enemy faction. He is not only feared by others but he is also admired for his power, intelligence, and charisma. His arrogance and cold demeanor earned him the title of 'Ice Prince.'

Can, who is a beast summoner and attending the same school as Tin, is considered eccentric due to his overindulgent nature towards his summoned beasts yet people find him adorable. This allowed him to earn some admirers. Although he is a little famous in the university, he does not have a lot of friends. He would rather hang out with his beasts most of the time than socializing with other students. He does not worry himself about the rivalry between E.A and B.S.G because quite frankly he is more worried about how he can feed his beasts until they are satisfied!

What would happen if the ice prince and the adorable beast summoner meet?

 


	2. Chapter 1 - The Rivalry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello guys! So I love Love by Chance the series especially TinCan, but I did not like the ending for the two of them. In order to satisfy myself, I read a couple of fanfiction about them while waiting for the official English translation of the series. Anyways, I decided to write about TinCan because I am obsess with them!

 

At L.B.C university, the most prestigious magical institution, a heated argument between two female sophomore students of Elementalist Association (E.A) and Beast Summoner Guild (B.S.G) on the open green field next to the university can be heard. A commotion from these two factions is considered as a common occurrence in the university and so the argument between the two was not considered a huge event by other students.

"Your disgusting wolf beast was the first one to attack me! It even snapped at my face! My hair and makeup are now a mess!" the sophomore female student from E.A furiously shouted.

"Ohh I thought that was your natural look," said the other sophomore student from the B.S.G. as she let out a sarcastic chuckle.

"You b*tch!" 

"Look here Ms. Elementalist-With-Ugly-Makeup, my beast would never attack anyone unless it was provoked or attacked."

"Are you telling me it's my fault!? I did not do anything to your disgusting monster!" exclaimed the E.A student while gnashing her teeth.

"If that's the case, I apologize. I'm sorry for not properly training my beast not to play with trash. It's definitely unsanitary and horrible for the both of us," the B.S.G student said as she shook her head sardonically.

"Now you've done it!" 

The sophomore student from E.A was furious. Her face reddened not only from anger but also from humiliation. The palm of her right hand started evoking a light green glow as she started chanting an offensive spell but before she could even finish it, a hand held her right wrist and dispelled its formation. 

"What is happening here?" Pete calmly asked as he tried to diffuse the tension.

Pete is a Spirit User who specialized in healing and he is currently the right-hand of the ice prince. He is part of a smaller faction called Diverse Spirit Clan. This faction is considered a neutral faction since it never picked a side and its members are pacifists. Although this was the case, Pete was assumed to be considered a part of the E.A because Tin and him were friends since childhood. Unlike Tin, Pete is calm and approachable. Since he entered the university, he aimed to keep the peace between E.A and B.S.G. Due to this, he was considered as the prime mediator in the university whenever trouble came up between the students of the two major factions. He was admired by both E.A, B.S.G, and other smaller factions in the university.

"Pete, this filthy freak's disgusting beast just attacked me and messed up my hair and makeup," the E.A female student exaggeratedly cried as she tried to gain Pete's favor.

"I already told you that my beast will not attack anyone unless it is provoked!" the B.S.G student said as she sneered at the sly actions of the E.A female student.

"And I already told you I didn't do anything!" the E.A furiously shouted as she firmly hugged Pete's right shoulder.

"Ok, both of you have to calm down," Pete said.

As Pete tried to fix the situation, the dean of the university came. He learned about the small commotion and personally went there to take care of the argument. The dean, despite his old age of being a 130 years old, still looks young. If you are not familiar with the dean of the university, you would think that he is one of the college students in the university. 

The dean did not go by himself. He was with Ae, the next heir of B.S.G, talking about the constant occurrence of bickering from the two major factions and thinking of a way to put a stop on the rivalry in the university. Ae is a strong charismatic person who is admired by many.  Aside from his excellent leadership and summoning skills, Ae is considered one of the most attractive guys on campus. It is not a surprise that Pete fell in love with him.

When the two arrived at the scene, Ae saw how the female E.A student was being clingy to Pete and he began to slightly frown. The dean asked the two female students to come to his office to attempt to solve their problem. Ae decided to stay as he said goodbye to the dean.

"Pete," Ae said as he approached him.

"Yes, Ae?" Pete asked as he showed a bright smile on his face.

"There's a slight smudge on your uniform," Ae said as he tried to remove the mud stain while still frowning.

"It...it's not a big deal, Ae. It's ok," Pete shyly said as Ae's face got closer to his.

"You are so dense."

"Dense?"

"That girl who was clinging to you, it was obvious that she was trying to get you. Why did you not do anything to remove her arms from you?"

"Are you jealous?" Pete asked while grinning.

"What if I am?" Ae asked while still feeling annoyed.

"Ae, please do not be jealous. I have no romantic feelings for anyone aside from you," Pete said reassuringly as he cupped Ae's face.

"I trust you more than anyone else in this world. I just do not trust other people approaching you," Ae said as he proceeded to cup Pete's face while looking determined.

All of a sudden, the bell of the old tower of the university started to ring interrupting Ae and Pete. 

"It's already 9 a.m!? I have my Elemental Fusion class right now in the Elemental building," Pete said sadly as he slowly removed his hands from Ae's face. 

"I will walk you there." Ae said as he held Pete's right hand.

"If it's alright with you," Pete said while he blushed.

"You do not have to be so polite towards me Pete," Ae said teasingly as he slightly pinched Pete's cheeks.

The two started walking towards the E.A. building while holding hands. The students of the university knew about their relationship and no one disapproves. Quite frankly if someone disapproves of their relationship, they cannot do anything since both are respectable figures and from well-known families. Also, most students would always cheer and greet the two of them when they go together as if they are celebrities. The two even have a fan club.

Pete and Ae arrived in front of the Elemental Fusion class. 

"Thank you for accompanying me to my class Ae," Pete happily said.

"No problem Pete. I will see you later then," Ae said as he pinched Pete's cheeks again.

Ae then pecked him on the cheeks. It was brief but it definitely left the two of them in a daze.

"When we are alone, I will make sure to give you more kisses in places only I'm allowed to see," Ae whispered.

"Ae!" Pete covered his face as he blushed.

Ae walked away with a huge smirk on his face as he went back to the Magic Beast's Garden to visit Can.

Pete walked inside his classroom and saw Tin sitting by himself. All of his classmates were afraid of the ice prince and so all the seats that are surrounding Tin were vacant.

"You should act more friendly towards others. People are starting to believe that you will kill a beast the moment you see it," Pete said as he sat down next to Tin.

"..." 

Pete sighed as he took his notebook out for his lecture.

"You shouldn't be with that person," Tin nonchalantly said as he stared at the written notes on the board.

"That's seriously the first thing you want to say to me in the morning?" Pete asked confusedly and unhappily.

"..."

"Tin, I love him and he loves me. If we were to face obstacles in the future, we will do it together no matter how hard it is. I know his position and your position. I am aware of the rivalry of the two factions," Pete continued.

"When the time comes, you will have to choose a side. I will not hesitate to destroy those who try to stop me," Tin said as he looked at Pete coldly.

That sharp and cold gaze gave Pete a shudder. It made him speechless. If that time comes, how is it going to affect his relationship with Ae?

Meanwhile, Ae just arrived to the Magic Beast's Garden and he saw Can digging magical herbs which he uses to create food for his magical beasts.

"Can, do you need help?" Ae asked.

"It's ok. I just finished digging the last magic herb that I needed to feed Gucci over there," Can said as he tried to shake off the mud from his face and hands.

"Where is Gucci exactly?" Ae asked as he looked at the place where Can pointed.

"He should be inside that shed....." as Can looked around confusedly. 

"I don't see him...." Ae continued.

"Can, I told you to make sure that Gucci stays with you at all times. He is still in an infant stage so you wouldn't be able to control him. How can you be so careless!?" Ae said as he scratched his head.

"He was behaving fine a moment ago. I'm sorry, I will look for him right now," Can said worriedly.

"I'll help you. Let's split up. You go towards that Transfiguration building and I will check the  Magical Herbs building."

"Got it!" Can said.

Can's newly summoned beast is a gelatinous being. At the moment it is fragile and weak but as it reaches its adult stage, it can be really useful at growing magical herbs and finding rare magical herbs. Right now, it curiously travels inside the Transfiguration building. 

Tin left his class early and proceeded to go inside the Transfiguration building which is a shortcut to the parking lot. His father called him for a sudden urgent meeting.

As he entered the empty hall of the building, a gelatinous beast jumped right in front of him. Both Tin and the beast stared each other curiously. Tin slowly reached out to the beast.

"Stay away from Gucci!" 

 


	3. Chapter 2 - Deception

Tin looked up and saw a short teenager running towards him with a furious look.

"Get away from my Gucci!" Can furiously repeated as he went in between Tin and Gucci.

Can is aware of the identity of Tin since he is well-known in the university. He also knew about the dark rumors surrounding him especially regarding summoned beasts being killed on the spot the moment he sees them. Even if it is only a rumor, Can cannot take any risk.

He raised his head and directly looked into Tin's eyes since he is a little shorter than the ice prince. There was a certain coldness that can be seen in the ice prince's eyes that would make one shudder and cower in fear but not Can. For him, losing a summoned beast is the worst kind of fear that he has. He is willing to do anything to protect his summoned beasts even if he has to sacrifice himself.

Can blocked the ice prince's view of Gucci as he raised both of his arms to the side. He pouted and furrowed his eyebrows as he tried to intimidate him.

Tin was a bit surprised that someone from the university who was not intimidated of him. Aside from Pete, everyone else was scared of him. It was the first time too that someone dared threaten him.

"Is this supposed to scare me?" Tin asked himself.

The ice prince figured what the shorty was trying to do and smirked.

"How amusing," he told himself.

Tin removed the smirk out of his face and returned to his indifferent yet cold attitude.

"The next time I see your disgusting beast, I won't hesitate...." Tin whispered to Can's ears.

Can was frozen for a moment as the warm breath touching his left ear gradually disappeared. Tin walked away and went directly to his car.

The little beast summoner covered his left ear while still dumbfounded and furious.  His eyes followed Tin's movements.

"I already hate that guy..." he said as his right hand formed into a fist.

He calmed himself as he took a deep breath. He then looked down and faced Gucci.

"Are you ok, Gucci?" Can worriedly said.

"You shouldn't just leave like that without my permission. It's dangerous!" he continued.

Can proceeded to hug the cute gelatinous beast.

Gucci who was the main cause of the incident seemed to be ignorant of what just happened. As soon as Tin left the Transfiguration building, he struggled to free himself from Can's grasp as he tried to follow the ice prince with determination. Can let him go since he thought that Gucci was uncomfortable. The beast with an evident enthusiasm with his shimmering eyes started jumping towards the direction of the exit. As he was about to go outside the exit and towards the parking lot, Can caught him mid-air when he jumped.

"Gucci! What are you doing!?" Can worriedly said.

"You went to a different direction. The Magic Beast's Garden is on the opposite side. You silly!" he continued as he tightly hugged Gucci again.

Gucci started whining and struggling but Can didn't let him go this time.

The master and his beast went back to the garden and met with Ae.

"Where did you find him?" Ae asked as he pinched Gucci's cheeks.

"Kyuu! kyuu!" Gucci uttered in pain.

Gucci hated when Ae pinches his cheeks because he would do it really hard. His cheeks would turn redder than his already red skin and he would feel pain. It is just unfortunate that he doesn't have the ability to say any words to make Ae stop.

"I found him inside the Transfiguration building with that bastard ice prince," Can said furiously said as he remembered what Tin whispered to him.

"Tin!? Did he do anything to you or Gucci?" Ae asked curiously.

"Nothing really, I just didn't like his attitude."

Can knew that if he told Ae what really happened back in the Transfiguration building, Ae would confront Tin. Can didn't want that to happen since it will be too troublesome. As much as possible, he wanted to live in peace with his lovable summoned beasts in the university.

"Generally, no one likes his attitude," Ae chuckled.

"Just be careful. He is unpredictable and a dangerous person. If possible try to avoid him," Ae said in a serious tone.

"I know. I don't want to see him anyway."

"Kyuu!" Gucci whined.

"Gucci is probably hungry," Ae said as he stopped pinching Gucci.

"Alright, I'll take him inside that old kitchen and prepare some food for him."

"I'll go to my class now," Ae said as he tapped Can's shoulder.

Can nodded and proceeded to go in the old kitchen with Gucci.

In the main office of the E.A's current head, there was an ominous atmosphere that would terrify anyone who enters.

"There is some rat within our group who exposed our plans to that hateful B.S.G," mentioned by Tin's father as he gritted his teeth.

"According to my source, it's one of the Diverse Spirit Clan members," he continued.

He slammed his fist on his wooden desk that caused it to crack in half.

"Truly detestable!"

Tin was sitting down in front of his father's desk. He was calm as he listened to his furious father. The two of them have been discussing their next new plans to infiltrate the main B.S.G headquarters after the initial sabotage of their actions.

"I want you to help me find that rat!"

"Yes, father," Tin said without hesitation.

"You are dismissed," said by Tin's father who was still standing up and furiously contemplating about his failed plan.

Tin nodded and left his father's office. There was no "Goodbye" or "I will see you at home" between the two. There was no casual greeting to begin with when the two met. It has always been like this since Tin was a kid. There was no affection when the two of them always talk. Their discussion is just all about hatred and crushing B.S.G. It's no surprise that Tin grew up to hate B.S.G too although it was not as extreme as his father's hatred.

Tin left his father's building and went straight to his family's mansion. The grandiose mansion is an old ancestral home that was still well-maintained even after so many generations. It is huge and beautiful. It is truly worthy to be considered as a great wonder. Yet, even if this is the case, the atmosphere was quite gloomy. No one lives here aside from Tin and his father. To be more precise, it is as if Tin is the only one living in this huge home. His father is always consumed by work and rarely goes home. There are servants but they don't live in the mansion. They only come to the mansion to clean and cook food. After that they would leave.

Tin went straight to his room and recalled the discussion that he had with his father. He then started thinking about Pete. Knowing that his father has a suspicious nature, he would suspect everyone in the Diverse Spirit Clan. Since Pete is together with Ae, the future heir of B.S.G, Pete will be under more surveillance by his father's men. If he doesn't do anything about the relationship between the two, it can further complicate the relationship between E.A and Pete's clan. Since E.A has only few allies, he can't allow an additional faction to go against them. He was also worried about the well-being of Pete who is his only childhood friend. He knew for a fact that Pete is not the rat that his father is searching. Pete wouldn't betray him.

Even though it seems that Tin has an indifferent and cold attitude towards people, it wasn't the case when it comes to Pete. He does care about him. It is just that he is not good at expressing it.

"I need to separate them," Tin said to himself while sitting down in his chair by his desk.

As he was thinking of how to separate the two, there was a sudden knock by his door.

"Young master Tin, your lunch is served," the servant said in a respectful manner.

"Leave it there," Tin uttered.

"Yes, young master Tin," the servant said as she left the cart that has the food of her master.

After the servant left, Tin stood up and opened the door.

For his lunch, the servant cooked him Balsamic Glazed Steak Rolls, Endive Salmon Boats, Hasselback Tomato Caprese, and several more dishes. The servant made a lot of dishes because she didn't know what the young master wanted. She once gathered her courage and asked what he wanted but he mentioned that anything will do. She didn't bother asking him again because she is scared of him. All of the servants in the mansion are scared of him and the master. In the end, the servant decided that she would cook food that befits a rich young master. She took pride and worked really hard to perfect the dishes she considered as masterpieces. She would always cook several healthy and fancy dishes so the young master would have several options. Since she knows that the young master has a light appetite, she would take the leftover home and feed them to her children since no one in the mansion would eat the food.

Tin tried to taste one of the servant's "masterpieces."

"Tasteless," Tin said indifferently.

He decided not to eat lunch, yet again.

As he was about to go inside his room, he noticed the red gelatin in a small bowl. It suddenly reminded him of the event that happened that morning.

He grabbed a spoon and scooped a small amount of gelatin.

He smirked.

"How should I deal with you?" he said while still looking at the small bowl.

He went inside his room with it and closed his door.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \-----------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Author's note:
> 
> So I do not know any fancy food that was mentioned here. I got them randomly from this website cuz they sound fancy....
> 
> https://www.tablespoon.com/posts/15-foods-that-will-make-you-look-fancy
> 
>  
> 
> I will try to update as soon as I can! Happy Thanksgiving ya all!!!


	4. Chapter 3 - Saturday Life of Cantaloupe

It was a great Saturday morning. There was a bright blue sky, lovely birds chirping in a distance as they perched on the tree branches, and just a serene scenery that is truly worthy to be admired. This would have been something that Can could witness but he was still sound asleep in his small and comfortable bed. 

Saturday is Can's favorite day because he gets to sleep until noon. During the weekdays, he would be up by 5:30 a.m. to prepare breakfast for himself, his mother, and younger sister. Then he has to get ready and take the bus around 7:00 a.m. to get to the university on time. His first morning class called Anatomy of Ancient Beasts would start at 8:00 a.m. and usually if the bus is always on time, he would be there ten minutes early. Sometimes he wished that he could summon his high-tier carrier beast named Beholder, a one-eyed flying beast, so he could travel to the university within one minute, but her mom forbid him to do so since she wanted him to keep a low-profile. She did not want him to have a terrible life at college like he did when he was a kid.  

Even though L.B.C University is considered one of the most prestigious magical institution in the land, it did not mean that all of the students were from a rich and well-distinguished family. Some students were able to enter the university due to their exceptional abilities and unexpected circumstances. Can, for instance, did not come from an elite family background but he was given the opportunity to study in L.B.C due to his rare and exceptional gift. This unique ability of his is that he is capable of summoning a seemingly unlimited number of beasts of various rarities. Normally for beast summoners, they could only have  a limited amount of beasts that they could summon depending on their level. As the level of one's summoning skills increases, the number of beasts  that this person can summon and their rarity also increase. For instance,  a usual high-level beast summoner has a limit of having four to five summoned beasts. Typically this high-level beast summoner would have one mid-tier or high-tier summoned beast and the rest would consist of low-tier to mid-tier.

In Can's case, he was an exception. When he was a kid and still learning the principle of beast summoning, he was already able to form two contracts with one mid-tier defensive beast and one low-tier miscellaneous beast. It is truly rare for young kids to have such capabilities unless they have support from an elite and well-established beast summoning family. For Can to have such capabilities without any support from the elite is truly exceptional. This caught L.B.C's admission officers' interest. Without any hesitation, they took a note of him and made sure that he would attend the university. Having exceptional talented individuals like Can will surely boost the university's prestige and its elite image.

Can's moment of peace as he was sleeping was interrupted when a sudden loud bang of the door was produced as it was opened. Sudden sounds of high-heels tapping the floor started to get louder as they approached Can who was still covering himself with a blanket.

"CANTALOUPE, I know you're awake!!!" shouted by Can's sister as she pulled the blanket away from her older brother.

"What do you want Ley? It's so early in the morning for you to shout," Can said unenthusiastically as he pulled back his blanket.

"Morning!? It's already noon! Also, did you already forget your promise that you're coming with me today to the other shopping district?" Ley asked as she kept pulling the blanket away from Can.

"Does it really have to be today, Ley?"

"I'm already properly dressed as you can see, so we are going! If you don't want to go then you better pay the money you owe me with interest," Ley said threateningly as they continued struggling with the blanket.

"Ok! Ok! I'm going," Can said as he finally gave up and let Ley pull the blanket away from him completely.

"Thought so," Ley said as Can slowly got out from bed.

"Before you get ready, what do you think of my outfit?" Ley asked as she twirled like a princess happily expecting for a praise.

Ley was wearing a sleeveless top with black polka dots pattern and with decorative ruffles attached to the arm holes. The gray shorts that she was wearing has a lovely ribbon design in front that is attached around the belt area. She was also wearing a simple red glossy high heels.

"You look good and fashionable," Can said as he proceeded to fix his bed.

"I know. Anyways, hurry up!" Ley said as she walked out of Can's room.

"I want to eat first!" Can complained.

"You eat when we get there, my treat," Ley answered.

"Really!? Ok! I'm going to be ready in fifteen minutes!" Can said as he hurriedly went straight to the bathroom.

Ley knew that Can loves to eat food and so treating his older brother for one was a good incentive  to make him go more willingly with her. She also felt bad because he knew Can's only rest day was today but she really needed someone to take her shopping bags.

After getting ready, Can went downstairs and walked towards the kitchen where Ley was currently watching the television with their mom.

"I'm ready, Ley," Can said as he fixed his hair.

Can was wearing a simple white shirt and a blue jeans. He was also wearing his favorite shoes: a worn out black Converse.

"Finally, you're done. Let's go,"  Ley said hurriedly as she stood up.

"Be back before dinner okay? Have fun," their mother said as she continued watching the television while eating some oranges.

"See you later mom!" Ley said as she dragged Can outside.

_"Breaking news: The youngest son of the head of the Diverse Spirit Clan was reported missing......"_

"Cantaloupe, take care of your sister!" their mother reminded as she took a quick glance of the two walking outside the door.

"I got it mom! Don't worry," Can answered.

The two siblings left their small house. Ley summoned one of her miscellaneous beasts, Lenalee, to help her choose her new clothes since Can is not that helpful when it comes to fashion. Her beast has a fairy-like appearance and a size of a fist. Just like its owner, Lenalee loves shopping and has a good fashion sense. Unlike Gucci, Lenalee could communicate properly with humans. Ley and her beast can be considered best of friends when it comes to shopping.

When Can was also about to summon one of his beasts, Ley stopped him.

"What do you think you're doing?" Ley asked.

"I'm going to summon...."

"NO!" Ley said as she interrupted Can.

"I hope you still know the main reason why we're going to the other shopping district and not the one nearby?" she continued.

"...."

"If it weren't for you and your spoiled beasts running amok in one of the stores where we used to shop, we wouldn't be in this situation in the first place. I already told you that you should discipline them but you didn't! You spoiled them even more! You're just like Dad....oh" Ley instantly covered her mouth with her right hand and stopped talking midway after mentioning their dad who passed away a couple of years ago. Their father was really close to Can and his death was still a sensitive topic for him.

"Don't worry. It's okay. I'm over it already," Can said indifferently as to try to hide his true emotions.

"I won't summon my beast this time," he said as he chuckled to try to lighten the atmosphere between the two of them.

Ley nodded and the two went on the bus. While waiting to get to their destination, Ley asked Can about the upcoming Beast Summoning Guild Competition happening within a month in L.B.C Campus. The Beast Summoners of this institution has a top 100 ranking system. In order for beast summoners to become part of the ranking system or to move up to a higher rank they have to challenge a beast summoner of their choice who is already in the top 100 ranking. If a challenger managed to defeat the defender, the challenger would take the defender's title or rank. Of course, people do not compete just because of the ranks and bragging rights. They compete for the perks that they could obtain.

The top 100 are guaranteed to get unlimited supply of low-grade materials necessary to create beast food and to summon low-tier beasts. The top 50 are guaranteed to get a certain amount of mid-tier materials. The top 25 are guaranteed to get a supply of mid-tier beast food. The top 10 will receive a one-on-one training with high-class veteran beast summoners and trainers. The top 3 are guaranteed to get a certain amount of high-tier materials. The top 1 is certain to get high-tier beast food and training manuals. Currently Ae is top 1 which is no surprise since he is the next heir of B.S.G and he possess powerful epic beasts. 

"I'm not really interested," Can said as he shook his head.

"This isn't really about you. Think about the beasts that you own!" Ley said as she tried to persuade Can.

"You have recently summoned rare and epic fighter beasts! You can't just continue hiding them forever. They are fighters by nature and if you take that away from them  and keep them like prisoners, they would weaken. Also, don't you need mid-tier and high-tier ingredients to feed your beasts? With your current strength and skills, you can easily take top 10," she continued.

Ley was right. Even though Can is not a violent person, he cannot just ignore his beasts needs. He truly cared about them and he is willing to do anything for them. Since he has multiple beasts, taking care of them would be difficult and expensive. If he joins the competition and get to at least top 50, the burden and expenses for him would be less. Although there is an overwhelming benefits, Can is still hesitating.

"I'm worried about mom. She wants me to keep a low-profile about my abilities," Can said worriedly.

"Tsk!" Ley clicked her tongue.

" Forget about mom's words right now. Listen here! " Ley said with a serious tone as she looked intently into Can's eyes.

"Can, you aren't that weak kid anymore who got bullied easily for being different. That was in the past. You're much stronger now. You should follow what you really want. Just grab every opportunity possible and exploit those benefits. You can start with this competition," Ley continued.

"Why does it feel like it's not really about me but more about you, Ley? Didn't you ask me for mid-tier materials not long ago? Are you just trying to persuade me to join and get to the top 10 in order to gain some materials for your beasts?" Can asked suspiciously.

"Can, this will benefit the two of us ok? Please just...just participate in the competition. Help your sister," Ley said as she tried to look pitiful.

"...."

"Ok, how about this, if you join, I will remove the interest of the money you owe me?"

"I will think about it," Can said as he scratched his head.

"Really? Please think about it really carefully!" Ley said happily as he pleaded her older brother.

Can nodded with a chuckle. He cannot really say no to her younger sister. 

After arriving to their destination, the two of them went back to their usual cheerful conversation as they went around the shopping district to eat and get new clothes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello Everyone, It is currently 1:00 A.M and I am about to fall asleep. This chapter is more like a background story for Can. Also, I want to give more details about the world that this fanfiction takes place. ANYGAYS!!! Thank you for supporting this fanfiction.


	5. Index

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More information regarding the world where my fanfiction is created.

(Unedited)  
(Tend to change as the story progresses)

So I would like to further solidify how the world works since some people have asked me about it. I think I should've addressed this before so as to not confuse you peeps. This is not a new chapter btw.

1\. Can you tell me more about the different factions?  
As you guys know, there are two major factions: Elementalist Association and Beast Summoner Guild. There are smaller factions but at the moment, the most important smaller faction is the Diverse Spirit Guild.

2\. Can you tell us who is part of which faction? As of now:  
\- Elementalist Association (E.A.): Tin  
\- Beast Summoning Guild (B.S.G.): Ae and Can  
\- Diverse Spirit Clan (D.S.C.): Pete

3\. What do each clan specializes in?  
\- E.A.: Be able to utilize different elements such as water, wind, fire, earth etc.  
\- B.S.G.: Be able to summon different beasts that have different specialties or skills.  
-D.S.C: Specializes in healing, mind reading, and manipulation.

4\. Level?Rarities? Miscellaneous beasts? Offensive Beasts? What? How do they work?

● So people in this world have different levels and each level has its own grade.

\- Levels: Low -> Mid -> High

\- Grade for each level:   Gray ->  Green -> Blue -> Purple -> Orange -> Rainbow (Rainbow only applies to High level. Rainbow has its own grade.)

\- Rarities: Common -> Uncommon -> Rare -> Epic -> Legendary -> Mythic

● Levels and Grades only apply to humans. Rarities apply to beasts, training manuals, materials, and magic skills.

● Different levels mean different strength. For instance, if a blue low level elementalist were to fight a purple low level elementalist, the blue low level elementalist has a really high chance of losing.

● The rarities of the items, skills, and beasts can definitely affect the total strength of the user. For instance, if a gray low level beast summoner has an   epic offensive beast and tried to fight an orange low level beast summoner with common offensive beast, then most likely the one with the epic beast would win.

● There are different kinds of skills, training manuals, materials and beasts.  
\- Skills, Beasts, Training Manuals : Offensive, Defensive, Miscellaneous

-Each category has its own subcategory.  
Offensive: short-range, mid-range, long-range, area of effect, single target  
Defensive: self, party  
Miscellaneous: transportation, communication, intelligence gathering, item forging, material gathering etc.   
-Items, beasts, training manuals that are under the miscellaneous  category  are meant to help the user in  many forms not necessarily offensively and defensively. Let's talk about Can's rare miscellaneous beast, Beholder. It allows Can to transport anywhere within a short amount of time. It cannot fight or defend Can in case there's a battle.  


5\. How forming a contract with beasts works?

\- In order to form a contract with a beast, there are two steps required.

 1. Materials =  A beast summoner needs to call or summon the beast  that he or she would like to form a contract with first. Summoning or calling a beast for the first time requires certain materials. There are three factors to be considered when it comes to the success of summoning a beast: level of the beast summoner, quality of the required summoning materials, and rarity of the beast that is going to be summoned. 

2\. Forming a contract =  After successfully summoning a beast, the beast summoner  has to form a contract with the beast. During this stage, the beast and the beast summoner will form an initial connection and see if the two are compatible.  Ultimately, it is up to the summoned beast to decide whether it would want to form a contract with the beast summoner. If the contract formation is a success, the beast summoner will now own the beast. If the contract formation is a failure, the summoned beast will go back to its dimension and the beast summoner will have to try again.

After forming a contract, beast summoners can summon their contracted beasts anytime. If they  want to make their beasts stronger, they can do so by  feeding them with beast food and giving them experience (ex: battle, skill-practice, cultivation etc).

(The information below was added after Chapter 26)

There are twelve known elements: Air, Earth, Water, Fire, Wood, Ice, Lightning, Metal, Blood, Light, Darkness, and Void. Generally, a normal elementalist could harness three to four elements. Having five elements could already be considered above average. A person who can harness six and above elements can already be considered rare and a genius. One has to know that as you gain a new element, the harder it is to gain another one which is why the average elementalist could only get three to four elements. In the history of the elementalists, the only known person who managed to possess the twelve elements is the founder and the first elementalist in history.

 

So this is it for now. Of course the focus of this story is still TinCan but it is necessary to understand the world that they are in. I hope with this, it will help you understand and enjoy reading this fanfiction more.


	6. Chapter 4 - Tin's Sly Plan Part 1

Inside the Elemental Fusion class where it was usually quiet, there were constant murmurs and chattering by the students.

"Have you heard? The Diverse Spirit Clan's youngest son went missing. Apparently he got involved in a dangerous business and messed up," whispered by a male student who was wearing a glasses as his group of friends sat in the back of the classroom.

"Didn't the news say it was some cult?" curiously said by another as he whispered since he was too afraid to be heard by a certain someone.

"I'm not sure, but apparently Pete and that person are friends since both of his family and the D.S.C head family are close," the student with a glasses said as he scratched his chin.

"That must've been awful," a female student with a pigtail hairstyle sadly uttered as she looked at Pete who was full of sorrow and was seating in the very front seats with Tin.

"If only I could do something to make him feel better.....It's just that the ice prince is sitting next to him," she continued as she dejectedly sighed.

"Don't you think there is something odd about the atmosphere between the two though?" asked by another female student who has a red hair.

The group of friends simultaneously looked towards the direction of Tin and Pete. They did notice something was different.

"Weird. I never saw the ice prince this.....caring and close towards Pete before," the student with glasses said as he scratched the back of his head.

"That's true but don't you think it's great? The ice prince might not actually be the person who we think he is. He might be cold on the outside but he is actually a very nice person inside!" the  girl with the pigtail said as she gasped after her own realization.

"OH MY GEE, I know right! I mean look at them, they look so intimate. Look at how our Tin caress the back of our Pete. Look at his expression too! He has this sincere comforting attitude towards him, " the girl with the red hair said as she clapped her hands with inaudible sounds.

As the group of friends admired the scenery between the two, the ice prince suddenly looked towards their direction with piercing cold gaze as if he heard their entire conversation. The gaze that they received was enough for them to shake and cower in fear. At that very moment, they disbanded and went to their respective seats quietly.

After disrupting the noisy group, Tin went back at comforting Pete. 

According to his father, the disappearance of the member of the D.S.C. had something to do with B.S.G. He believed that this might be related to the person who exposed their plans to their enemies. Although this might be the case, the entire D.S.C would still be under surveillance.  Even though his father was still investigating the situation, Tin had his own theories about the incident. For now, he would let things unfold on their own. 

If there was one thing that Tin was certain, it was that this incident provided him the perfect opportunity to slowly take Pete away from Ae. He believed that it was easier to break a strong bond when someone in the relationship was vulnerable. In addition, Ae's absence due to the upcoming Beast Summoning Guild Competition was a bonus for him. Right now, he has to show that he is more reliable than Pete's boyfriend who is unworthy piece of trash. He was quite satisfied inside although something feels missing. He doesn't know what it was but he didn't let it bother him with his plan to save Pete.

Pete was trying to stay strong. He was suppressing his emotions and the urge to cry as to not further worry everyone and not to interrupt the class.  He couldn't believe that one of his close friends was missing. He didn't want to think that bad things might befall him but he just couldn't help it. 

As he thought more about his missing friend, the harder for him to suppress his emotions. He wanted to go somewhere where he could just let it all out. At that very moment, he was thinking of going to Ae but it has been days since the two of them talked. Pete knew that it might has something to do with the upcoming B.S.G competition. The pressure that Ae has right now from his family in order to remain rank 1 must be immense. He must be really busy. Pete knew this yet was it too much for Ae to talk, call, or text him? Was it selfish for him to ask to see him even for a moment? A simple "Hi" on text would be enough for him but there was none. Was he not important to him? It was as if Ae disappeared into thin air.  

As Pete was contemplating, Tin had a sense of what he was thinking. It made him grin inside.

"I'll take you outside," Tin whispered to Pete as the professor started his lecture.

"I'm okay Tin," Pete said as he forced a smile.

Tin grabbed his small briefcase with his left hand and then stood up.

"You're not okay," Tin continued as he pulled Pete's hand and dragged him outside.

"Tin!" Pete said softly as he grabbed his backpack.

All the students gazed at the two leaving the classroom. They started chatting with one another about what happened but the professor disrupted them abruptly as he continued his lesson.

================================

In the Magic Beast's Garden, Can was busy planting common magic herbs as his gelatin beast, Gucci, was curiously staring next to him while working.

"Can, how long have you been planting?" 

Can looked back and saw his friend Techno.

"I just started a couple of minutes ago," Can said as he went back to planting.

"Your sister texted me that you didn't eat breakfast this morning? I brought you food," Techno said as he put the plastic bag that contains food on the nearest table. 

Can stood up all of a sudden and approached Techno. Gucci then followed Can.

"I'm really sorry for troubling you," Can said as he sat down with Gucci next to him.

Aside from his obsession with his summoned beasts, he is also obsessed with food. He would never ever skip a meal but today he had to go to the university in a hurry due to a minor problem in the Magic Beast's Garden. One of the water sprinkler in the Gray Magic Herbs' section broke and with every minute that these particular magic herbs don't get enough moisture, their quality decrease. Can rushed to get there and fixed the water sprinkler without any food in his stomach. He was really thankful that Techno was there to save his day.

"Don't worry about it. I know how much food matters to you," Techno chuckled.

Can grabbed the food container and a plastic spoon from the bag. He took the lid off the container and started eating. 

"Slow down Can! It's just some plain rice and scrambled eggs," Techno said as he was surprised.

"So-rry," Can said as he slowly ate his food.

"By the way, I'm glad that you finally decided to join the competition," Techno nodded.

"No, I think you misunderstood, I'm still deciding whether I'm joining or not," 

"Huh? Your sister said that you are actually joining. She even asked me to sign you up immediately. I already submitted your application today too," Techno was confused.

"You what!?" Can asked.

"Ley, I swear!" he continued.

Can knew that once you submitted the application, you cannot back out. His sister was really sly. He will make sure to scold her about it.

Techno seemed to figure out what exactly happened.

"Can, I think this is a good opportunity for you. Look at you, you always work in the Magic Beast Garden every day for little amount of magic herbs. Knowing your superb abilities, you will be able to join the rankings and easily make it to top 25 if you wished. You can get so much more magic herbs when you join the rankings," Techno explained.

"I know," he said as he played with his food.

Can usually gets frustrated when he works in the Magic Beast's Garden since he doesn't get enough materials that he wanted to create beast food. He didn't attempt to change his situation and join the B.S.G ranking competition because he didn't want  to stand out. He thought that this time, he should change for the better. 

Can wasn't really mad about the fact that Ley made Techno sign up in his stead, he was just disappointed that his sister didn't trust him enough. Even if Ley didn't do this, he would eventually sign up for the competition, he just needed time to adjust.

Can sighed heavily.

"Even if I tried to back out, I can't. I might as well try and do my best," he said as he continued eating.

"That's good to hear then," Techno said.

"Where's Ae?" Can asked.

"Well since the B.S.G competition is less than a month,  his father made him train in seclusion. No contact from the outside at all.  I think his father is making him summon the rest of the Seven Deadly Sins Beasts," Techno answered.

The Seven Deadly Sins Beasts are a family of demihuman beasts. Each beast is considered of either rare or epic rarity. However, when they are all summoned together, their combined power will fall under the legendary tier. Only the head family of B.S.G has the capability to summon the Deadly Sins Beasts since they require a lot of resources and only those of high-level beast summoners could summon them. Previous generations of the head family were only able to summon 4 of the 7 deadly sins beasts. Throughout the years, as they improved at researching better practices of summoning, their success rate of getting the rest of the seven deadly sins beasts became higher. 

During the war between E.A. and B.S.G a long time ago, the deadly sins beasts were used to wreak havoc to E.A. They were that devastating that by just hearing the term 'Deadly Sins Beasts', it would make anyone who survived the old war shudder. 

Since the deadly sins beasts are quite powerful, summoning each one consumes a lot of spiritual energy and so those who are high-level beast summoners are only capable of wielding their powers.

Currently Ae who is a gray high-level beast summoner has 5 of the 7 deadly sins beasts. He was able to form a contract with them with the help of his father.  As of now, he is trying to summon and form a contract with the rest of the deadly sins beasts in seclusion.

"Does Pete know about this?" Can asked.

"I'm not sure," Techno said as he looked at his watch.

"I should go now Can, I have a class in 3 minutes," Techno stood up.

"Ok, Thank you Techno for the food. I'll treat you next time," Can said as he smiled.

Techno nodded and walked away.

"I should talk to Pete later," Can said to himself.

He quickly looked at the seat where he left Gucci. His little beast wasn't there.

"Gucci!?" Can looked under the table to look for him but Gucci wasn't there.

"Not again!"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I added new stuff on Index so check it out.
> 
> 1\. Demihumans are basically humans with nonhuman qualities.
> 
> Also, I have added some pictures to better visualize the beasts but they are on Wattpad.
> 
> I update faster on Wattpad than here. 
> 
> Thank you so much for supporting this fanfiction.


	7. Chapter 5 - Tin's Sly Plan Pt.2

Pete and Tin walked away as far as possible from the students to avoid unnecessary disturbance. Tin saw a bench that was under the shade of the tree and dragged Pete there.

"Tin, you didn't have to drag me here. I'm fine," Pete said as he forced another smile although this time it was evident that he was not okay. 

His lips started to quiver and his eyes were watery. Now that they were alone, Pete was more sincere about his feelings although he still tried to hide it. Usually when there was a problem, Pete would deal with it on his own. When it became too emotionally exhausting, he would cry by himself since he didn't want anyone to know his weak side. That was how he dealt with his problems before.

When he met Ae, it became different. For some reason Ae has this ability to make him tell the things he didn't want to share to anyone, not even to his family or to his childhood friend, Tin. When he did share his problems with Ae, he would always feel better afterwards. Ae has this soothing way of talking that would make Pete calm down as they discuss his problems. Whether he would cry, rant, talk about serious or trivial things, Ae would listen to him sincerely.

Right now, he was on the verge of crying and Ae was not there for him. He realized at that moment that he was so used to Ae helping him go through his problems. It just made him feel more pathetic and helpless. This mixture of emotions overflowed as his tears started to fall.

Tin who was by his side did not exactly know how to deal with the situation. He never saw Pete act this way. It was also his first time seeing someone who is close to him cry. It made him uncomfortable. How is he supposed to deal with the situation?

"Go on," Tin said.

"Wh-at?" Pete asked as he looked at Tin.

With a caring manner, Tin grabs Pete by his shoulder still with indifferent look and hugged him.

Pete was surprised about Tin's behavior. The usual cold and aloof ice prince is actually comforting him. 

"Tin?" Pete asked confusedly.

"..."

Pete chuckled a little bit. It must be uncomfortable for him to do this yet he was trying his best to comfort him. 

"Thank you, Tin," Pete said as he reciprocated Tin's hug. 

Pete felt a little bit better. 

"You're actually nicer than I expected," he continued as he withdrew from Tin's hug.

Tin smirked as he lightly ruffled Pete's hair. 

"Oi..Tin! Stop it!" Pete said as he tried to fix his hair while smiling.

This time his smile was sincere.

The two sat down on the bench and looked at the clear blue sky.

Tin gazed at Pete's smile that was still plastered on his face with a satisfied look. He seemed to succeed quite a bit at being more reliable than Ae although he believed it still wasn't enough.

The moment of silence was disrupted when Pete's stomach grumbled. Pete immediately covered his stomach as if trying to hide the grumbling noise but he immediately realized it was useless. His embarrassment has caused his cheeks to blush red like a tomato.

"I'll buy food. Stay here," Tin said as he stood up.

Before Pete could insist that he would buy food for the two of them, Tin already walked away leaving him and his briefcase behind.

"What a good friend," Pete said as he grabbed his phone that was vibrating.

As Tin's figure slowly disappeared from Pete's view, three human-shaped shadows that were hidden from a distance started following Tin.

The moment the three shadows moved,  their presence was already sensed by Tin. He knew immediately who these people were and decided to divert his path far away from Pete and the university as much as possible. He kept a casual and calm attitude as he walked  deeper into the forest that was next to the university.

The three shadows who were wearing black masks and cloaks seemed to be oblivious of Tin's plan as they followed him. 

As they three continued following Tin, they started questioning his behavior.

"Why is he going deeper into the forest?" one of the shadows with the smallest stature asked.

"Did he notice us?" he continued

"That's impossible, only those of Blue High-Level individuals will be able to detect us," answered by the shadow with a mature female voice. 

"According to the report, Tin should only be a Gray High-Level Elementalist," uttered by the shadow who was the leader of the group.

"If he goes deeper in the forest, it would be easier for us to capture him. No disturbance."

The two subordinates nodded and the three continued their pursuit.

When Tin felt that he was in a safe distance and far enough from the university, he stopped.

"What is he planning to do here exactly?" the little shadow communicated to his teammates.

"Something doesn't feel right," the shadow with a female voice whispered anxiously.

The leader of the group was silent as he observed Tin. Something has been bothering him since Tin changed the direction of his path.

The more that the group contemplated Tin's odd behavior, the more anxious they got. It is just impossible for him at his current level to notice them.

"Even if he did or didn't know we are here, we have to complete our mission. Besides there are three of us who are at Green High-Level status. We should be able to do this with ease," the leader said with confidence.

"I wouldn't be so sure if I were you," Tin whispered behind the leader's ear.

Before the leader could react, a clear gaping hole in his chest became evident. He became paralyzed as blood gushed out from his mouth and his entire body fell in silence on the ground without a struggle. 

The two subordinates who were initially confident about accomplishing the mission smoothly were now shocked and terrified after seeing their leader die immediately.

"Isn't he supposed to be only at Gray High-Level status!? How is this possible?" the shadow with a female voice asked as she shivered in fear.

"Unless he is....." she continued as she started turning around to flee from the horrifying scene.

"W-we have to leave now!" she screamed at her subordinate.

"But the mission?" the shadow with a small stature said as he panicked.

"Don't you get it, we are no match to him! We have to report this," the female shadow insisted as she continued to ran away as fast as she could.

Her other subordinate couldn't say anything. Their leader was the strongest out of the three and for Tin to be able to kill him in an instant, he must be more powerful than they initially thought.

As the two preys ran away, they were immediately blocked by an invisible barrier created by Tin. They were now cornered and trapped.

"Why are the two of you so eager to leave?" Tin asked sarcastically as he smirked while walking leisurely towards the direction of his preys.

"This is bad. We can't escape unless we destroy the barrier," said by the small subordinate.

"I'll try to destroy the barrier, you distract him!" the female subordinate demanded.

The small subordinate nodded and immediately formed a seal with his hands.

_"Ultimate Illusion!"_

After performing the seal, hundreds of illusions of the small shadow showed up and surrounded Tin.  The 'Ultimate Illusion' skill is one of the ultimate techniques that he could use because it could multiply his strength. 

"Oh so you are from that puny Black Snake Clan, how interesting. I thought your clan already vanished in the old war," Tin mockingly said.

The small shadow's fear was easily replaced with anger and proceeded to perform another ultimate seal.

"Let's see if you can survive this!"

_"Poison Cloud!"_

Each of the illusion produced a green smoke of deadly poison through their mouths and directed the gas towards Tin. As the continuous flow of gas surrounded Tin, the concentration and density of the poison became more potent and deadly.

Since there was no struggle in the smoke of poison, the little shadow snickered. It seemed that Tin wasn't that strong after all. He just got lucky at killing their leader since they got distracted. They were panicking for nothing.

As he was about to turn around to help his subordinate destroy the barrier, a sudden huge gust of wind sucked all the poison gas and pulled him and his little shadow illusions within seconds. 

_"Whirlwind Blades"_

The whirlwind surrounding Tin eliminated the poison cloud and destroyed all of the illusions with ease. As for the Black Snake Clan member, he was unable to believe that his ultimate techniques that took him years to perfect were dispelled within seconds. He truly underestimated Tin's power and now he had to pay the price. Just like his illusions and poison gas, the little shadow disintegrated into pieces until they became one as the wind. 

After the death of the little shadow, the whirlwind finally disappeared.

"Pathetic," Tin said to himself as he wiped his right shoulder that has slight dirt.

The only surviving member witnessed what happened to her other subordinate. She has been trying to destroy the invisible barrier but she hasn't made any progress at breaking it no matter how much she tried. She even shapeshifted herself into her ultimate beast imitated form, Azure Demihuman Snake Dragon, in order to increase her strength but it was futile.

As a shapeshifter, the female shadow has the capability to change her form into different entities and even imitate a beast. Shapeshifting helps the users in various situations such as being able to increase their strength, utilize various skills, and deception.

But at that very moment, the female shadow's capabilities were truly ineffective. She knew she was going to die.

"I beg you, please spare me. I'll tell you anything," the female dragon said as she shook in fear.

"What was your mission? If you dare lie, I'll kill you," Tin said with a terrifying indifferent gaze.

Even if Tin looks terrifying, the elegance and his gorgeous appearance didn't disappear.

"They want us to injure you so you won't be able to participate the Friendly Faction Competition."

The Friendly Faction Competition is the most renowned competition in the country. Those who are in top 10 ranking in their respective factions in L.B.C University will be able to compete with one another. 

"Isn't it too early for that? The competition is 6 months away?"

"We are trying to eliminate as much competition as early as possible. The less competitors the better for the Black Snake Clan to win the top," she said as she reminisce the misfortune that happened to their clan.

Nearby where Tin was currently confronting the miserable dragon, Gucci has been watching the entire scene behind the tall bushes outside the invisible magic barrier. The gelatinous beast seemed to be frightened. He doesn't know whether it was due to Tin's capability to kill or it was due to the people who tried to kill him.

"Gucci! I finally found you!" Can said as he quickly grabbed Gucci so he won't run away.

Can was able to detect Gucci through his newly acquired detection skill which allowed him to pinpoint the location of his beast.

Gucci was startled for a moment but knowing that it was his owner, he felt relieved. 

"What are you doing all the way over here Gucci!? You made me worry so much!" Can said as he pinched Gucci's cheek.

"Kyuu! Kyuuu!"  (GET AWAY!) Gucci uttered.

"Alright, we're going back to campus," Can said as he turned around towards the direction of the campus.

"KYUUU! Kyuu! kyuu! kyuu!" (NO! TIN! TIN! TIN!) 

Gucci started to struggle. Using his gelatinous body to his advantage, he was able to slip away freely from Can's grasp .

"Gucci! where are you going?" Can said as he followed Gucci who was jumping  away from him.

As they passed by the tall bushes, a clear view of a horrifying scene can be  witnessed.

"Kyuu! Kyuu!" (Help Tin!) Gucci pleaded as he looked at his owner for a response.

"You are not the first one to attempt to do this and quite frankly I don't care," Tin said as a fire ball formed from his right hand.

"You said you're going to spare me!" the dragon desperately announced.

"You will just be a pest in the future. I don't like pests."

Tin threw the fireball at the pitiful dragon. The moment the fire touched the shiny azure colored hard scale skin of the dragon, immediate excruciating pain can be felt as it slowly spread around its body. Constant helpless shrieks from the female dragon can be heard as she struggled pointlessly to extinguish the fire but only those within the invisible barrier can hear her struggles. Tin looked at her as she slowly turned into ash with indifferent attitude.

Even though what the female dragon was saying might be the truth, he can't let her escape and report what she found out about his current level.

Can who saw the entire scene froze. Although he was unable to hear the entire conversation and eventual cries of the pitiful dragon, the gruesome scene was enough for him to see how terrible of a person Tin was.  Knowing the rumors about Tin, Can was able to conclude that Tin mercilessly killed an innocent beast.

This scene was too familiar for Can that it triggered his childhood memories  that he tried so hard to erase.

_"You don't deserve this gift!"_

_"How about teaching him a lesson?"_

_"Haha I know, how about we turn his small pet as beast food?"_

_"Please! Don't! NOOOO!"_

The sound of his classmates' mocks and laughs kept resonating in his mind. The sound of his beast's last breath before it died tightened his chest making him gasped for air.

He blamed himself for what happened that time. He was unable to do anything back then because he was weak. He let them kill his beast because he was powerless. Being unable to do anything was his greatest regret but he cannot let this happen anymore.

The death of his innocent beast was enough. He cannot let it happen again to other innocent beasts. He promised that he will risk his life to protect them. This time he will make Tin pay for what he did.

As bad memories accumulated and his resolution mixed together, Can's sense of judgement became clouded. His usual calm and joyful attitude were replaced by pure hatred and lust for revenge.

He raised his right hand in the air as if trying to grab something. His eyes suddenly started glowing white as he raised his head.

Gucci who was behind him tried to get his attention by pulling his shoelace using his mouth but there was no effect.

"I summon the Great Valkyrie Randgris."

Huge dark clouds started to form above the forest replacing the peaceful blue sky: a sign of ominous battle looms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is longer than usual. Anyways, I would love to thank everyone for your continuous support! I will try to update as soon as I can!


	8. Chapter 6 - Tin vs. Can

(unedited)

As the huge dark clouds accumulated in the forest's sky, loud rumbling sounds and fierce lightning emerged. 

Tin looked up to examine the sudden phenomenon. 

The dark clouds started to spin slowly and formed a whirlpool.

As heavy rain started to fall, a stunning figure descended from the middle of the whirlpool made of clouds.

It was the Valkyrie Randgris. The black-winged angel beast with black plated armor and red cape came down and landed next to Can while Gucci was still pulling his shoelace. 

Tin, who curiously looked at the beast movements as she descended on the ground, was surprised when he saw the little red gelatin beast and its master.

"What is he doing here?" he muttered as he redirected his gaze towards Can.

He was thinking whether that shorty was part of the group he eliminated earlier but he dismissed the idea.

Can, who was in a far distance, started uttering some words and pointed his finger towards Tin's direction.

All of a sudden the black-winged angel flew forward in lightning speed towards Tin. With her lance covered in purple flame, she lunged and struck the invisible magic barrier. Cracking sounds were heard as the magic barrier and the lance collided. With every swift strike of the weapon to the barrier,  a slight intense vibration of force echoed in the area. Eventually the magic barrier slowly disintegrated like a shattered mirror.

Tin who saw the scene was slightly amused. No one has ever completely destroyed his invisible magic barrier, not even Ae during the Friendly Faction Competition last year.

Even though Tin is not a Beast Summoner, he knew who the Valkyrie Randgris is. 

Nicknamed as the Angel of Despair, Valkyrie Randgris is an epic rarity offensive type beast with fire attribute. Even though she is slightly inferior to the Seven Deadly Sins Beasts when combined, she is one of the strongest in the epic tier for beasts category. One of her unique features aside from her elegant beauty that a lot of beast summoners admire is her lance covered with purple flame. It is said that any form of defensive barriers can be destroyed with her weapon in one strike. Even though it is not completely true, Tin was still impressed with her capabilities.

"Didn't I already warn you, shorty?" Tin looked at Can as he briefly ignored the angel's movements.

Can whose eyes were still glowing white didn't respond. Tin was a little mystified about Can's behavior because the last time that they met, he was quite bold and talkative. 

"Don't blame me if I kill your angel beast," Tin said mockingly as he tried to get a response from Can. 

This time Can responded but not for Tin. He uttered some instructions that only the Valkyrie Randgris could hear.

The angel beast quickly flew towards Tin with her purple flame covered lance pointing at him.

Since the Valkyrie Randgris is a fire attribute type of beast. Her weakness is water attribute spells.

_"Icicle Spears!"_

Tin snapped his fingers and multiple sharp solid icicles surrounded him. He snapped his fingers again and the solid icicles were shot toward the target. The angel beast swiftly dodged  as she flew in the sky but she was constantly being bombarded by the endless waves of icicles that made her unable to approach him.

After a few minutes of dodging, the small green area where they were fighting was covered in icicles and mud.

Tin stopped his offensive attacks against his opponent.  Meanwhile, the angel beast who was in defensive mode returned to offensive. She put a distance between her and the enemy as she descended on the ground to gain momentum to throw her lance towards her target. 

Tin put a smile on his face as if mocking the angel beast for falling for his trap. As she hurled her lance, the icicles surrounding the field started exploding which caused her to miss her target.

_"Freeze Bomb!"_

As the explosion occurred,  parts of the icicles covered the beast's feet  and froze her in place. The angel tried to free herself but she was unable to.

"It's a shame that your beast will die," Tin said as he approached the struggling beast.  

Tin looked towards Can's direction but he was still silent. 

"What's with the silence?" he asked. 

"Don't you care about what happens to her?" he snapped his fingers and a huge sharp icicle formed in his right hand. Tin was curious how this small beast summoner would react even though he didn't really intend to kill the beast. Still, he wouldn't mind doing it.

Finally, Can responded but with tears in his eyes.

"Please...Don't.....Nooo..." he said as he slowly walked towards Tin and his beast. Gucci followed his master behind worriedly. 

Tin raised his eyebrows. He was curious what the beast summoner would do.

Can suddenly stumbled and fell onto the ground. He tried to get up but his spiritual energy was already depleted. Controlling the Valkyrie Randgris requires a lot of spiritual energy and only a high level beast summoner has the capability  to do it.  Since Can is only an Orange Grade Mid-Level beast summoner, he was not qualified to control the Valkyrie Randgris yet. His spiritual energy  was drained immediately within few minutes after she was summoned.

Can resorted to crawling but still he was unable to move at all. He raised his right hand as to reached out for his angel beast but it was futile. He was still a little far from her.

While Tin got distracted as he was watching the pitiful beast summoner's attempt to rescue his beast, the angel has been silently chanting a spell. 

_"Dispel!"_

The ice that restrained her movements broke. She quickly extended her wings and flew towards Tin who was caught off guard. She hit his chest with her left palm and at the immediate contact, she chanted a new spell.

_"Despair"_

Tin suddenly fell to his knees. His mind was filled with memories that caused him so much despair. He covered both of his ears with his hands.

"Get out of my head!" he demanded.

He bit his lips firmly that they started to bleed. 

While Tin struggles,  the angel called her lance. Her weapon floated from the ground and moved back to its owner's right hand. She then traced the lance with her enchanted left hand and the purple flame reignited once again. As the effects of the Despair spell was about to wear off, the angel did not hesitate to act to thrust her lance into Tin's heart. Unfortunately before she could even move from her position to kill Tin, her newly contracted owner lost consciousness from complete depletion of spiritual energy. 

When a beast summoner runs out of spiritual energy, the summoned beast will return to its dimension automatically. The angel started to slowly disappear. She heaved a sigh of relief and then smiled. It seemed that she did not really want to kill the young elementalist. If it were not for Can's clouded thinking and impulsive instructions, she would have just let him free. Gucci who was by his side started panicking as he called out to his unconscious master.

After the angel beast disappeared, the Despair spell was also removed. The dark sky was replaced again by the clear blue sky. Tin, who was still on his knees, was breathing heavily and his eyes were filled with tears. All of the memories that he despised came back to haunt him again. There were also some memories that were completely unfamiliar to him but they were also terrible.

"Damn it!" he yelled as he punched the ground.

He stood up as his anger filled him. The completely soaked and full of mud young elementalist walked towards the little beast summoner who was lying on the ground.

Can who was still unconscious was grabbed by his muddy white jacket by Tin.  Gucci looked up and was relieved to see the young elementalist he admired. He expected that he would save his master.

Tin who was about to punch Can out of anger stopped when he noticed Can's tears flowing down from his face.

He wondered at that moment if he was in pain too.

Tin continued to examine the little summoner's face. Even though it was covered by mud, the sadness yet serene expression can still be clearly seen. It calmed Tin down and his anger vanished.

"Tin! Can!" shouted by a male from a distance.

Tin looked at the source of the shout and saw Pete with an umbrella.

"What happened here? Are you guys okay?" Pete asked as he was catching his breath.

"How did you get here?" Tin asked still grabbing Can by his jacket.

"Can called me earlier. He wanted to talk to me after he found Gucci in the forest," he answered as he approached the two who were dirty and completely soaked by the rain earlier.

"So his name is Can," Tin told to himself.

"I'll tell you what happened later. Check this beast summoner first if he's okay," Tin said as he eased his grasp of Can's jacket and left him lying on the ground.

Pete has many questions he wanted to ask but he put them aside for now. He approached Can and checked his body for any physical injuries. There were none except for minor scratches. He then proceeded to check his spiritual energy using his spirit sensory skill. He immediately concluded that Can's current state was really bad.

"He lost all of his spiritual energy! If this continues, he might become spiritually crippled permanently. We have to bring him to my home! It's nearby and I have all the necessary medical items to help him," Pete said as he started panicking.

"We're going through this path. the university might send some people to investigate here. It would be too troublesome," Tin said as he picked up Can and held him in bridal carry style.

Pete didn't say anything and just followed Tin. Can's little beast also followed the group. He seemed to be in a happy mood.

As they finally managed to leave the forest, a luxurious sleek black Rolls-Royce Phantom car was waiting for them. Earlier Pete called his trustful driver to pick them up from that place.

Pete took Gucci with him as he sat in the front seat where the little beast proceeded to seat on his lap. Tin sat in the back with Can. Since it would be harder to prevent Can from moving too much if he sat down, Tin decided to put Can's head on his lap as he firmly held his body with his right arm. 

Pete asked his driver to take them to his home immediately. 

As they were approaching Pete's house, Tin looked at the little summoner and wondered. For some unknown reason, he couldn't get to hate this little guy. He despises the B.S.G so how come he doesn't feel the same way about him?

Suddenly he remembered those ugly memories of his which gave him a slight headache. As he tried to forget them, he recalled those unfamiliar scenes in his head.  He saw a small beast being beaten up by a bunch of kids as it cried for help. He saw a pitiful crying kid desperately trying to struggle to free himself from the grasps of his classmates but he was unable to. In the end, the beast died and the kid continued to cry as he tried to help him in vain. Then there was also this funeral scene. He saw a little girl next to a taller boy with a mature lady holding their hands who seemed to be their mother. They were all crying in front of an old man that was in an opened wooden coffin. The boy was resting his  head on the old man's chest while sobbing hard. It was most likely his father. He was in so much pain and sorrow. Tin wondered if these were the memories of the little summoner beast.

As he was contemplating, the car suddenly stops as the huge gate in front of it opens.

"We're here Tin!"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey ya all! Another update for this fanfiction.
> 
> I also change the cover photo if you haven't noticed on wattpad. I was thinking of editing more TinCan pics but I was like "is too much". If I have time tho I'll do some.
> 
> Gosh it is 1:10 a.m. already but I don't care XD 
> 
> Anyways thank you so much you wonderful lovely peeps for supporting this fanfic!
> 
> I'll continue updating as soon as I can. Finals are coming this week so there might be some delays and I care about my grades sooooooo........


	9. Chapter 7 - Heal

(unedited)

As the car entered through the open huge white gate, the driver hurriedly steered to the right and went to an inconspicuous forest path instead of going through the main road that leads to Pete's grandeur and beautiful mansion that sits in the middle of the forest. 

This short forest path will lead to Pete's small wooden cottage next to a lake. But instead of a breathtaking view of nature, partial gloominess and silence can only be witnessed as the car drove through the thick forest. Due to the density of the tall trees, the sunlight was blocked even though it was still noon. At the end of that path, however, a pleasant and alluring environment that will captivate anyone can be spotted. The small cottage by the transparent lake that reflected the clear blue sky was surrounded by various beautiful colored flowers and plants. Some of them are used for decorations, but most of them are used for medicinal purposes.

When the car reached the end of the forest path, there was a slightly steep slope that it has to go down to. Pete grabbed the car handle on his side as he firmly held Gucci to prevent him from moving. Tin, who was already firmly holding Can in place, held the car handle on his side. After going down, the car proceeded to follow the bumpy dirt road that leads to Pete's cottage.

This place gave Tin a nostalgic feeling. It has been a long time since he last visited. He remembered that he would occasionally come here when he was a child under his father's order to befriend Pete. His father wanted him to have reliable allies, so he recommended Pete from the Diverse Spirit Clan. Initially, Tin would only interact with Pete to gain his trust. However, due to Pete's good-natured personality, he genuinely wanted to become friends with him eventually. The two would come here to play and train. This was a period of time which Tin truly cherished. When was the last time he came here? 

As soon as the car stopped next to the cottage, Pete opened the car's door and let Gucci out. 

"Tin bring him in and put him on the huge table inside."  Pete went outside the car and ran immediately inside the small wooden cottage.

Tin carefully took Can outside the car, still in a bridal carry style. The driver who was outside to assist him was ignored. Gucci, who was still happily smiling, followed his unconscious owner being carried inside by Tin.

Inside the cottage,  loud noises of items falling can be heard. 

"Tin, over here!"

Pete removed the remaining items that were on the huge black table and dropped them on the floor to give room for Can.

Tin slowly lifted Can and laid him down on the table. Pete then checked Can's current state once more.  He was already in a critical condition. Can's face and entire body's color were turning pale. 

"He needs the spirit recovery potion right now, but it will take some time to prepare it!" Pete started panicking. The longer Can is deprived of spiritual energy, the worse his condition will become.

"I'll transfer my spiritual energy to him," Tin said.

"You'll what? Tin that's dangerous!" Pete warned.

Transferring spiritual energy to someone is not an easy process. Just like blood transfusion, the person who is transferring spiritual energy must be compatible with the person who is receiving it. If they are not compatible in terms of spiritual energy level, then the receiver would reject the spiritual energy. In return, the donor will risk damaging his or her own body. Because of this, no one would dare risk it. The current safest way to transfer spiritual energy is through the spiritual energy recovery potions.

"We don't have much time." Tin who was next to Can started concentrating and collecting his spiritual energy from his body.

"But..." Pete looked at him with worry.

"Make the potion. The more that you stare, the more time you waste," Tin calmly demanded. 

Pete could only give up. Once Tin made up his mind, it would be impossible to change it. Pete rushed to the small kitchen with Gucci. He started gathering the necessary ingredients for the spirit recovery potion. Gucci, who seemed to know what Pete was creating, helped him gather the ingredients that were found around the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Tin started controlling the concentrated spiritual energy from his body and formed a blue colored fiery orb on his calloused hands which illuminated the room that they were in.  His orb has a deep shade of blue which meant that the concentration of spiritual energy is high. 

Tin then slowly released  the spiritual energy from the orb and transferred it to Can's body. 

From the kitchen, Pete quickly glanced back worriedly at Tin and looked at his current situation. He was surprised and baffled when he saw that Can was slowly absorbing Tin's spiritual energy. There was no rejection at all! How could this be?  In the first place, why would Tin, the ice prince who despises the B.S.G., risk his life to help Can, a beast summoner? Did something happen between the two? Is it the end of the world? Are they in a forbidden relationship?

There were a lot of questions and scenes that were playing in his mind, but he pushed them aside. He would just ask Tin later. For now, he needs to concentrate on preparing the potion. He went back to the kitchen table and continued mixing the necessary ingredients in the small cauldron.

After almost an hour of transferring spiritual energy, Can's color went back to its normal tone.

During this time, Pete finished the concoction. He transferred the finished product into a small transparent flask from the cauldron. The flask slightly illuminated due to the light-blue liquid it contained.

"Tin, I'll take over. Thank you," Pete said as he grabbed the flask and stood next to Tin.

Tin nodded and the still deep blue colored orb from his hands dissolved. A significant amount of his spiritual energy was used, so he was a little dizzy.

Pete bent his body a little bit as he opened Can's mouth. As he poured the light-blue liquid from the flask into his mouth, Can's body instinctively absorbed the liquid.

Pete rechecked Can's state. He was now in a normal state, but he caught a fever. Pete heaved a sigh as he wiped the sweat on his forehead. He was relieved that Can was out of danger.

"He is not in critical condition anymore, but he has a fever." Pete looked over Can's entire body that was covered in minor physical wounds and mud.

_"Heal!"_

With Pete's healing power, Can's wounds slowly disappeared. Pete's heal is only capable of removing external and internal wounds. Sickness such as fever, stomachache, headaches, and many others cannot be treated using this skill.

"We need to give him a quick warm bath to remove the mud but umm..." Pete looked down to hide his embarrassment.

There was a momentary awkward silence after that.

"But what?" Tin narrowed his eyes as he broke the silence.

Pete could only scratch his head and smile awkwardly. He was so embarrassed about giving an unconscious man a bath that he blushed just thinking about it. Tin figured out what Pete was imagining.

"I'll do it. I need to take a bath too," Tin indifferently said as he looked at his hands covered in mud.

"Are...are you sure?" Pete asked confusedly. He is even willing to give Can a bath? What is Can to him seriously? 

"You don't seem comfortable. Just give me spare towels and clothing for the both of us." Tin took him from the table and proceeded to go to the bathroom without any hesitation.

Pete was speechless. His mouth opened from surprise as his gaze followed Tin's movements. Was this person the actual Tin whom he knew?

Pete shook his head and removed the suspicious thoughts he had. He decided to go outside with Gucci and asked his driver to quickly drive them back to the mansion to get some spare towels and clothing for the two. He wondered if the two  are going to be fine by themselves?

Meanwhile in the bathroom, Tin laid Can in the simple porcelain enameled steel bathtub that is incidentally large enough to fit two people.

Tin looked fixedly at Can's face. The little beast summoner has a more pleasant expression compared to earlier.  Tin reached out with his right hand and gently wiped some of the mud off the boy's right cheek with his thumb. He then used the back of his right hand against the boy's forehead to check his temperature. It was above the normal body temperature.

Tin unzipped Can's dirty sweater and tossed it to the corner of the bathroom. Next, he removed Can's shirt and his undershirt which then revealed the skinny light skin body that looked quite delicate and fragile. Compared to Tin's perfectly chiseled features and his toned built that God bestowed him, Can truly looked weak and required someone to protect him. It gave Tin the impression that the moment someone touched Can's smooth skin, it would leave him bruised. He proceeded to strip the rest of his clothes indifferently. He was not interested in observing another man who was completely naked and unconscious. Can is an enemy that is coincidentally a friend of Pete. He would not do this if it were not for Pete's sake. 

Tin turned the knob and let the warm water from the faucet fill the tub. He stripped away his clothes and threw them to the corner where Can's clothes were located then grabbed and poured the liquid soap in the tub. He then joined Can in the tub as the bubbles and white foam formed.

He put a good amount of shampoo to his and Can's wet hairs and lathered up. With a loofah scrubber, he gently removed all the dirt from Can's face and the rest of his body. Afterwards, Tin scrubbed himself until there was no more dirt attached to his face and body. 

"Tin! I have the towels and some spare clothes. I'm just going to leave it in front of the bathroom door!" Pete left the items on the floor and went back to the kitchen with his newfound assistant, Gucci. He wanted to create more spirit recovery potions so that in the future if there was an emergency like today, he would be more prepared.  

After washing, Tin grabbed the spare clothes and towels. He took Can from the tub and made him somehow sit steadily in a chair that was in the bathroom. With a towel on his hand, he wiped the boy's face and the rest of his body until he was dry. He then did the same to himself. Afterwards, he put the spare clothes on Can, but they were a little long for him. He looked like a kid. When Tin wore the other spare clothes, they were a little short for him, but he did not care how ridiculous the two of them might appear and proceeded to dry both of their hairs with a hairdryer.

Tin then carried the unconscious boy and went to the only available bedroom in the cottage. He laid him down in the bed and tucked him in with a blanket. He went outside the bedroom and looked for Pete.

In the kitchen, white smoke from the small cauldron was emitted as Pete stirred the ingredients inside with a wooden ladle. Gucci who was observing him sensed the slight constant vibrations of the floor behind him. He looked back and saw the person he admires. He was still star-struck every time he meets him.

"Pete, I put him to bed. Do you have anything to help him bring down his fever?" Tin noticed the gelatinous beast staring at him intently. He was about to reach out to the beast, but he stopped himself when Pete moved to grab the potion from the kitchen table. 

"Here you go Tin,  this will not only help him with his fever, but it will also help him get the nutrition that he needed. He wouldn't feel hungry for the rest of the day too." Pete handed the potion to Tin proudly since it was something he invented himself. 

"Thanks." Tin was about to go back to the bedroom when he was suddenly assaulted by Pete's questions about the incident.

"What happened back in the forest? Why was Can unconscious? What are you doing there in the first place?" Pete curiously asked.

Tin paused for a moment and composed himself. He then faced Pete and started explaining what happened briefly but with enough details where he would not leave any suspicion. He mentioned everything to him except the part about the familiar and unfamiliar memories he witnessed.

While the two were discussing the incident, sounds of hurried footsteps approached their direction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey ya all! I actually edited a picture of TinCan and it's actually kinda fun. I might edit more pictures for the next chapters! It's just unfortunate I can't post it here. You can see it though on Wattpad.
> 
> AnyGAYS, I would like to thank everyone for the continuous support of this fanfiction. You guys motivate me to write more XD
> 
> Since it is my Christmas break, I think I will update more frequently every week but we will see.
> 
> Ok, BYE for now! :)


	10. Chapter 8 - Truth

(unedited)

"Young master Pete! Young master Pete!" The discussion between Tin and Pete was interrupted as the driver shouted for his young master's name. 

The two childhood friends curiously looked at the driver's direction as they anticipated the message that he was going to deliver.

"What's the matter, Uncle You?" Pete asked.

The driver who was a bit restless as he hurriedly approached his young master uttered "Your parents want to see you in the main house. I believe it has something to do with the missing son of the head family." 

"What did my parents say!? Did they find him!?" Pete asked impatiently as he held the wrinkly hands of his old driver with a smile on his face.

"They didn't say anything, young master." The old driver looked down while his lips trembled as he avoided his young master's anticipating gaze. He knew very well what happened to his missing friend, but he could not somehow reveal the truth to the child. Having served Pete's family for two generations and treating each member as his own, the old driver knew how devastating and heartbreaking it would be for Pete when he learned the truth. He did not want to see that smile on his young master's face to disappear.

Tin, who saw the driver's concealed reaction, learned the truth immediately. 

"Go, Pete. I'll take care of Can." Tin said as he gave his friend a reassuring nod.

"Ok! Before I leave, make sure to give him his phone." Pete rushed towards the black table where Can laid before.

While the young master was not looking, the old driver composed himself as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. 

"Thank you, young master Tin," the old driver said. 

Tin ignored the old driver's words as he waited for Pete's return.

Even though Tin might have a cold personality, the old driver, who have interacted with different kinds of people during his lifetime, believed that he still has kindness within him when it comes to people whom he cared about. He witnessed that kindness today towards Pete and his friend.  

"Here you go." Pete handed the phone to Tin with a smile that was followed with anxious anticipation as he rubbed his hands together and made short quick breaths. The latter put the phone in one of the pockets of his borrowed black jeans.

Seeing Pete with such expression on his face, Tin felt uncomfortable since he knew that his childhood friend would be met with false hope and ugly reality. How would he react or comfort him after knowing the truth?

"Let's go, Uncle You." Pete walked hurriedly towards the door. The old driver, who was composed but still has uneasiness inside of him, followed his young master.

"I'll come back to check on you, Can, and Gucci," Pete continued before he closed the door and left with his driver.

As the sound of the car engine running and wheels turning slowly faded away, Tin has decided that he would continue to protect Pete from anyone who would hurt him. Immediately, the thought of Ae caught the concerned youngster's mind. Knowing the worsening relationship between the E.A and B.S.G,  if anything were to happen to that trash B.S.G heir, wouldn't it hurt Pete more deeply? He must act fast and separate the two of them as soon as possible.

"Kyuu!" Gucci who was silently observing the whole situation tugged Tin's jeans to get his attention.

Tin looked down and saw that the little beast was tugging with its mouth. He quickly realized that the weak unconscious owner of the little beast needed to drink the potion.

Gucci stopped pulling and happily jumped after being noticed. Tin seemed to know the beast's intention, so he held him with his left hand while holding the bottle of potion with his other hand. He then proceeded to walk towards the bedroom where Can was currently in.

When he entered the room, he put Gucci next to his still unconscious master in bed. He stood next to Can and  gently pulled the boy's lower jaw with his thumb pressed against the little one's soft lips which caused him to feel a quick odd sensation on his body. He ignored such feeling once again and proceeded to pour the medicinal liquid from the small bottle until to its last drop. After pouring the liquid and making sure that Can drank the whole thing, Tin checked his body temperature. Using the back of his right hand, he touched Can's forehead. Finally, his fever went down. 

From his pocket, Tin pulled out Can's phone. He was quite surprised to see that the beast summoner was still using an old flip phone. He quickly gazed at the unconscious boy and silently judged him. 

"What era did your master come from hm?" Tin sarcastically asked the little beast but was answered with silence.

He flipped open the phone and tried to turn it on, but it was not working anymore. It seemed that it was damaged by the rainwater.

Giving up willingly, he closed the phone and put it back next to the standing picture frame of Pete on the small table. 

He gazed one last time at Can and the little beast before he left the bedroom.

As fatigue reached Tin from the fight and spirit energy transfer, he decided to lie down on the couch in the cottage's living room and immediately fell asleep.

In the bedroom, Can, who was in his bed next to his sleeping beast, has been dreaming. Right now, he is dreaming of a small child who seemed to be around 4-5 years old and about to perform on a stage of a kindergarten school. The child looked very nervous. Before he performed, his father and mother who were with him were trying to encourage him.

 _"You can do this! I know you can do it!"_ the mother who was dressed in a beautiful blue dress said as she crouched.

The father of the child, who was wearing a formal business attire,  continued as he messed the boy's hair tenderly while also crouching, _"Your mom's right! You can do this."_

The kid was still a little bit nervous as he looked at the crowd of parents waiting for his group's dance performance.

His mother pressed her right hand to the area where her heart is located then pressed it gently against the child's chest.

 _"What does that mean?"_ the child asked confusedly.

 _"That means that I'm always here to support you, so it's going to be okay! I might not be with you physically, but you will always be in my heart,"_ the mother answered in a cheering manner to the boy.

The father did the same gesture as his smile grew more widely, _"Just like what your mom said, I'm always here to support you, so it's going to be okay. I might not be with you physically, but you will always be in my heart."_

Finally, the child calmed down. 

 _"Thank you!"_ With a great sudden burst of enthusiasm, the child hugged both of his parents at the same time.

The three looked so lively and happily together.

 _"I'm going now."_ The child took a deep breath and joined his group.

Both of his parents cheered in unison without feeling embarrassed, _"YOU CAN DO IT TIN! WE LOVE YOU!"_

That was Tin? He is way different from the current cold-hearted him. What happened? As he was comparing the current Tin and his younger version, Can was suddenly transferred to another scene. He was now in a street in the middle of nowhere. It was pitch-dark and raining heavily. Apart from the noise of intense droplets of rain hitting the ground, loud screams of struggling can be heard. As Can walked towards the direction of the scream, he saw a car that crashed into a light post that surprisingly still emitted light. He also saw a group of people wearing all-black clothing and masks dragging someone into a black van. The little beast summoner  looked at the scene more closely and he was shocked to see that it was Tin's mom who was being dragged. She was heavily wounded all over her body: a sign that she fought fiercely against this group. As she struggled to break free from the people who held both of the upper parts of her arms, one of the people in black clothing threatened her,  _"If you don't want your precious family to be killed, you'll come with us!"_

The man started forming some kind of seal and before he could complete it, Tin's mom pleaded him to stop.

" _I won't struggle anymore! Please don't harm my family,_ " she said crying profusely as she surrendered.

At that very same scene, Can saw two individuals who seemed to be inside of a breaking barrier. Those two were Tin as a child and his dad. 

" _Don't give up! Crystal! Don't let them capture you!_ " Tin's father shouted crying as he struggled to maintain the protective barrier while holding his son against his body. Like Crystal, Tin's father was terribly beaten and heavily wounded. 

With all his remaining strength, Tin, who was bleeding from his head, called out to his mother one last time while trying hard to maintain his gradually losing consciousness, _"Mom...P-please s-stay..."_

Tin's mother tried her best to stay strong for her family as she forced a smile but she miserably failed as her lips trembled forcefully on their own in despair. She could not gather the courage to say anything to her family because she did not want to say goodbye to them. It is just not possible at all. 

The only thing she could do as her husband and child looked at her in devastation and anticipation was to forcefully hold her shaking right hand against her heart and then redirect it towards the direction of her loved ones. This time, she was able to force a smile for them.

Tin saw her mom's gesture and her trembling lips that were trying to form words. Even though he could not hear what she said, it was very clear what she meant. 

_"_ _I'm always here to support you, so it's going to be okay. I might not be with you physically, but you will always be in my heart.._ _."_

That was the last scene that Tin saw of her mother before he lost consciousness.

After the tragic scene, Can woke up.  Tears have descended silently as he opened his eyes.

He got up and thought about Tin as he wiped his tears. He must have gone through a lot of pain and he still probably goes through it today. It was also probably part of the reason why he acts the way he is now. 

Can wondered how he was able to see Tin's memories. He thought it must have been from the Despair Spell that was used against Tin. If one does not have full control of a contracted beast, spells or skills that were used by the beast could have side-effects. It was most likely the case with the Despair Spell. Some of Tin's memories  were transferred to him.

The little beast summoner suddenly felt something was wrong about his bedroom. He looked around the room, but it was pitch-black. With the assistance of the moonlight, he was able to sense the lampshade vaguely on a small table.  As the lampshade lit the room when he turned it on, confusion followed Can's mind as he furrowed his brows. The clothing that he was wearing was different. He looked up and saw a wooden wall with little to no decoration. On the comfortable yet unfamiliar bed, he saw Gucci sleeping soundly. He continued to look at his surroundings and looked at the small table next to him. His old flip phone was sitting there next to a picture frame of Pete and his family.

"Pete helped me?" Can remembered that he contacted Pete before he went into the forest. He must have followed him after. Of course, he would never think that it was Tin who helped him. Even though he seemed to be really nice when he was a kid, the current Tin is a cold-hearted person. 

Suddenly, the little beast summoner remembered in his dream about the incident in the forest. He saw how the three malicious people in shadows tried to harm Tin. He figured out that the ice prince was just trying to defend himself from the three but was it necessary for him to kill all of them? Can shook his head. It does not hide the fact that he judged Tin without knowing the truth and caused him unnecessary trouble. It was just a good thing that he did not kill him for his impulsive and stupid actions. He wondered what that ice prince was doing right now. He thought that when he sees him next time, he would apologize and try to compensate him in some way.

Can stood up and left the room to look for Pete. As he was walking  aimlessly and looking at the decorations of the wooden walls of the unfamiliar environment that was lit by natural light coming from the transparent windows, he saw a huge lampshade that was illuminating a room. Like a curious moth, he went straight towards the source of the light. When he entered the living room, he immediately noticed a familiar figure lying on the couch. Why is he here? This is Pete's house, right?

As the little beast summoner tried to comprehend his current situation, Tin was uttering words from his sleep as his brows frowned. He was having a nightmare of that incident.

"Mom...Please stay....."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey ya all! I've been busy this week. I was working on an app for some friends. Anyways! Have you guys seen that MV with TinCan!!! IT WAS A-MAZING I COULD DIE!!!! I want more of that steaming hot tea from the two. I hope to see more of it in the future.
> 
> Welp, Happy Holidays ya all and thank you for supporting this fanfic!


	11. Chapter 9 - Gesture

(Unedited)

"Mom...Please stay....."

The moment Can heard that phrase, he knew what Tin was dreaming about.

He cautiously approached the man on the couch and observed him. The lamp that lit the room helped him determine the current situation of Tin whose face was covered in sweat as it continued to squirm from left to right.

"Tin, wake up! Tin!" Can worriedly said as he gently shook Tin's body.

The man who was lying on the couch suddenly woke up. Instinctively, he grabbed one of Can's arms firmly which made the boy flinch in surprise and pain. 

"Tin, it-it hurts..," Can said as he tried to free himself from the man's grasp.

Still breathing heavily due to the nightmare, Tin immediately let go of Can's arm.

"Y-you were having a nightmare..so I..woke you up." The little beast summoner gently stroked the arm that was in stinging pain. It would likely leave a mark.

"..."

Tin sat on the couch. He did not utter any words, but he only sighed heavily and covered his face with both of his hands as he tried to calm down.

"Did you have a dream about that incident?" Can asked suddenly.

The moment he heard Can's word, he froze in shock. His heart suddenly sped up once again as he looked into Can's eyes with a questioning gaze.

"I-I saw parts of your memories," Can explained as he nervously avoided Tin's gaze.

"Enough!" Tin demanded. He does not want other people to talk or even know about his past since it will only remind him of the pain that he suffered. 

"I'm sorry, Tin." The little beast once again looked at him as he sincerely apologized.

"I don't need your pity," Tin quickly replied.

Can tried to explain his situation as he stuttered, "It-It was my fault. I'm-I'm sorry for judging you. I wasn't thinking back then and be-because of me you remembered those painful mem- "

Before Can could finish his sentence, Tin interrupted him as he furiously stated "Don't act like you know me just because you saw parts of my memories. Get lost!"

"I just want to fix my mistake," Can mumbled as he looked down. He felt that he just made Tin feel worse. This was all his fault. If only he did not mention the incident or fought him in the forest in the first place, he would not be in this uncomfortable situation.

Tin immediately stood up and grabbed Can through his shirt.

"Fix your mistake? You can't! There's nothing you can do about it!"

Tin started breathing heavily as his eyes reddened. The wall that he built so hard to hide his sorrow and tears were starting to crumble.

Can looked into Tin's eyes where he could sense the sadness and pain within him.

The little beast then suddenly remembered the gesture from Tin's memories. Still looking into the man's eyes, Can slowly and shakily moved his right hand against his heart. He then moved it against Tin's heart. 

Immediately, Tin recognized this gesture.

_"_ _I'm always here to support you, so it's going to be okay. I might not be with you physically, but you will always be in my heart.._ _."_

He looked at Can and immediately removed his grasp on his shirt. All of a sudden, the tears he was trying to conceal immediately fell. It has been a long time since someone did that kind of gesture. The last time that he saw it was the day her mom disappeared. He considers it very special since it is something that would always make him feel better afterwards. It reminded him that everything would be alright. It also reminded him of his happy family before that horrible incident. 

Can, who saw Tin crying in front of him, unconsciously hugged him. He could not help it since he can somehow see himself in Tin's position. Although it is strange to see the usual cold and aloof Tin being vulnerable, Can did not mind it at all. He thought that Tin really needed someone to support him at that time. Was he all alone when he deals with this kind of loneliness and pain?

Tin gazed into Can's eyes that were full of sincerity and care  as he felt the sudden warmth enveloped not only his body but also his heart which he has not experienced for a long time. After moments of realizing the position that they were in, Tin immediately pushed Can away from him. This new feeling of warmth and comfort that emerged from him because of the little beast summoner gave him a conflicted feeling. Although he did not want to part from that source of warmth, he felt that he should not let himself get too close. 

Tin turned around away from Can.

"Leave, Can....Please....leave me alone," Tin pleaded. 

Can was surprised that Tin would actually plead him to leave. He was more prepared if Tin decided to hurt him and he would not blame the youth if he did. Can was about to say something  to Tin but he stopped himself. He decided that he will talk to him when the right moment comes. For now, he will let him be.

The little beast summoner walked back to his room and lied down in his bed next to his sleeping beast. He grabbed his phone that was on the table after he turned on the lamp. As he was trying to turn on his phone to call Pete and his little sister, a little bit of water dripped from the side of his phone. At that very moment, he felt that he was in a life and death situation. He was hoping that what he was thinking about his precious phone was not true. Once again, he tried turning on his phone but to no avail.

"Not my phone," Can whispered in a troubled expression as he tried not to wake up Gucci.

After a while of attempting to fix his old flip phone, Can gave up. He put it back on the small table and covered himself in a blanket before he lied in bed. 

"How will I be able to contact Pete? How should I deal with Tin?" he asked himself worriedly. 

As he was thinking of how he will solve his problems, he gradually fell asleep due to tiredness and comfort of the bed that he was in.

Meanwhile in the living room, Tin finally calmed down. Even though it was the case, he still felt conflicted because of the incident and the budding new emotions towards Can.

All of a sudden his phone rang. Tin put his thoughts of what happened tonight aside and took a deep breath. He grabbed his phone and accepted the call.

"Father."

As the two talked, Tin's face suddenly turned serious. They were discussing Pete's missing friend who is now dead. According to the report his father received, the death of the missing person was not ordinary. His body was at the point where it looked like a dried plant. All that seemed to be left in the lifeless body was the horrendous and intense wrinkled skin and the bones. It seemed that someone took his life force out of him.  The cause was still unknown and the culprits who were supposedly responsible escaped. 

"I want you to come to my office as soon as possible," Tin's father ordered.

"Yes, father," Tin said without any hesitation.

The call ended. Tin stood up and tried to call Pete in order to let him know that he has to leave, but Pete did not answer. He tried again, but he failed, so he decided to text him. After texting, he looked towards the direction of the bedroom where Can was in and then left.

As the morning sun came, Can instantly woke up. As he opened his eyes, Gucci's face was in front of him. It startled Can and made him fall from the bed.

"Gucci, don't scare me like that!"

"Kyuuh?" Gucci answered.

A sudden knock followed by an opening door interrupted the two.

"Can, are you alright? I heard a loud thud in the room."

It was Pete's driver who Can is familiar with.

"I'm okay Uncle You. I just got startled by Gucci," Can stood up with an embarrassed face.

"I'm glad you're okay," the old driver said as he heaved a sigh of relief.

"Where is Pete and uhmm...Tin?" Can awkwardly asked.

"Young master Pete couldn't join you at the moment because of some unfinished business. Young master Tin left last night."

"Ohh, I see," the little beast summoner answered with disappointment on his face. He wanted to talk to Pete about Ae and to thank him for helping him. He also wanted to know how Tin was doing after what happened last night.

"Is there anything you'd like to tell young master Pete? I could deliver your message directly to him."

"Uhh No, it's alright. I'll tell him when I see him. It's not really that important anyways." Can scratched his head as he smiled awkwardly.

Ae's seclusion was meant to be kept a secret and only those who are quite close to Ae and his family could only know. If the wrong people heard this kind of information, it could disrupt the process of contracting the rest of the Seven Deadly Sins Beast. Can does not distrust Uncle You, but he cannot risk leaking this sensitive information to others senselessly. Pete is someone who is quite special to Ae and so he ought to know this information.

"I understand." The driver sensed that Can's message was personal and so he did not pry anymore.

"I made breakfast. After you eat, I'll personally drive you home."

"You didn't have to do that Uncle You, I'm okay," Can said, but at that very moment, his stomach grumbled which betrayed his initial words.

"I also have some beast food for Gucci. I'll see you in the dining area next to the kitchen." The old driver nodded at Can and then left the two.

"Thank you," Can said as he touched his tummy. His face was red as a tomato from the embarrassment.

The little beast summoner calmed himself before he proceeded to take Gucci to the dining room. After eating, Can went back to the bedroom and took his old flip phone. When he came back to the dining room, the old driver handed back his uniform.

Can suddenly wondered who took off his clothes and helped him clean but he did not ask because it was too embarrassing.

Can held Gucci and his uniform. "Uncle You, thank you for your help. I'm sorry for troubling you and Pete. I really owe you a lot this time. I'll return the clothes as soon as I can after I wash them."

The old driver nodded. "I have no problem helping those people who are in need. I'm quite sure It would be the same with young master Pete. Also, you should not forget about young master Tin. He was the one who actually saved your life. He was also the one who helped you clean and change."

"Tin did what?" Can asked in disbelief. Did he hear him correctly? Tin was the one who saved his life and the one who cleaned him?

As the old driver continued to explain to Can the events that happened yesterday when he was unconscious, Can's eyes and mouth gradually widened. He was truly speechless. All this time he thought the one who saved him was Pete. He really misjudged Tin. That guy is really confusing and unpredictable.

After the driver explained the whole event yesterday, Can knows that he basically owes Tin his life. How the heck is he supposed to repay him now!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MERRY CHRISTLER EVERYONE!!!
> 
> I had a lovely Christmas Eve because I shove all the food in my mouth without any regrets! This is the time of the year where no one can judge you because you have a legit reason to eat a lot. I mean even if they judge, i'd still eat cuz who doesn't like eating!
> 
> Anyways, New Year is coming! Pretty excited about it but I'm pretty sure I'm just gonna be home the whole time and watch the fireworks from a safe distance! XD
> 
> As always, thank you guys for reading!


	12. Chapter 10 - Gone

(unedited)

"CANTALOUPE! Where were you yesterday?! Why weren't you answering your phone?" Ley asked as she examined her brother while her arms crossed. She has been trying to text and call Can since the afternoon of yesterday, but he never answered. She had to cover him from their mother when she asked about his whereabouts.

"I was with a friend studying for an exam. My phone died and I forgot my charger....mom," Can said as he tried to act normal while being sarcastic. Knowing that his sister likes to pry on other people's business, he had to act like the incident yesterday didn't happen.

"Is that so...." Ley said as her brows furrowed as she approached her older brother.

She noticed his brother's brand new and expensive clothing that seemed to be a bit long for his size. She then noticed one of Can's wrist that seemed to be bruised. As a fujoshi, only one thing came to her mind as she tried to connect the dots and it made her heart race.

Her eyes and mouth widened from the sudden conclusion of her imagination as astonishment took over.

"Ca-Can, I didn't know you were in that kind of relationship, I'm sorry..." Ley said as she hugged her brother.

"Wha-what are you talking about?" Can confusedly asked as he let go Gucci and his uniform from his grasp.

The little beast summoner then pulled away from his sister's hug.

Ley patted her older brother's shoulder to give him a sort of encouragement and support, "You don't have to hide it from me, Can. I understand."

Can just furrowed his eyebrows as he looked at her sister.

"You went to your sugar daddy am I right? You wanted new and expensive things since you didn't want to burden our caring and loving mother and borrow money from me. That bruise on your wrist, I'm pretty sure your sugar daddy is a sadistic person. Just thinking about-"

Before Ley could even finish her dramatic narration, Can covered her mouth with both of his hands as his face reddened from the embarrassment.

Can looked at her sister saying, "LEY! Stop imagining things! It wasn't like that at all. I went to Pete's house with some friends. I fell on a muddy ground on the way there. Pete helped me and he was nice enough to let me borrow some of his clothes. I was playing with Gucci on my way back and I accidentally hit my wrist that's why it got bruised! Stop saying nonsense already!"

Lay suddenly lost the spark in her eyes and interest in his brother's business.

"Ohh..You should've told me earlier that you were with Pete. What a waste of time," Ley said as she clicked her tongue.

"YOU!!"

"Anyways, Techno texted me this morning and asked me about you. He wants to know if you want to go train with him and the others. Aren't you stuck at Orange Grade Mid-Level? You should take this opportunity to level up to Gray High Level. The competition is in less than two weeks you know."

"O-okay. I'll meet them later since I'm going to the university before noon. Thanks, Ley."

"Yeah, yeah. By the way, you owe me since I covered for you yesterday," Ley said as she went upstairs.

"Huh? O-okay." Can could only sigh. He was thankful that his little sister didn't make their mother worry about him, but now he owes her once more.

The little beast summoner went straight to the bathroom to take a bath and change. Afterwards, he went back to his own bedroom. As he closed the door, he immediately checked his spiritual energy level and was shocked at what he found. His spiritual energy didn't only completely recovered, but it seemed that the capacity of holding this energy expanded.

"I broke through the Higher Level!?"

===========  
In the main office of the E.A building, Tin, his father, and other powerful members of the group were going to have an emergency meeting.

After the call from his father yesterday, Tin went back to the office as soon as possible, but he was unable to meet him until now. He was told by his father's secretary that they would talk during the emergency meeting.  All the important people who were sitting  at the oval table were gathered and seemed to be clueless about the contents of the emergency meeting. Tin, who was the youngest in the room, was sitting at the very back of the oval table by himself. He felt something was off.

The chattering of the members ended when Tin's father entered the room. The sudden silence and the pressure of the atmosphere took an immediate effect. 

Without any kind of greeting, Tin's father went straight to the topic of discussion, "Everyone, at this very moment, it seemed that our fate towards destruction is inevitable."

Everyone looked at each other confused. Destruction? 

Tin looked at his father's appearance and actions. He looked worse and seemed to be more paranoid than before. His dark circles under his eyes worsened. He was shaking and he would constantly look at his surrounding as if trying to be vigilant. What happened to his father? He looked more like a madman.

Before anyone could say anything, Tin's father continued as both of his hands formed into fists.

" B.S.G is plotting to destroy us all! I hope all of you are aware about the death of the missing son of the Diverse Spirit Clan's head? The life force of that person was taken. Similar cases happened several years ago."

"What does this have to do with our destruction?" one of the elders who has a respectable aura and dignified status said with seriousness.

"I firmly believe that they are trying to summon the beast that united everyone."

Immediately, one of the elders with short temper spoke in anger, "What kind of joke is this!? The beast that united everyone?  Are you out of your mind, Tri!?"

Another elder stood up and hit the table, "Is this what your emergency meeting is about!? A discussion about some children's book!?"

The so-called beast that united everyone that was the topic of the meeting is a children's picture book titled  _Gloom Under Night_ by a renowned author who is now dead.

In the story, there was a beast who ruled over the other beasts in their realm. This mythic beast is called Gloom Under Night by the author.  In the story, Gloom Under Night traveled in the human world when it heard a voice of a beast pleading for help. Since Gloom Under Night is a benevolent being, he listened to the wish of the beast and left the dimension it ruled. A beast that travels to another dimension without any assistance from the dimension it is going to travel to is dangerous since it would require a tremendous amount of power. Yet, the selfless Gloom Under Night did not let this stop him from helping the beast in need. 

As it successfully traveled the other dimension, he immediately started searching for the beast. While navigating, he witnessed the horrible situation of that new world. There he saw pure devastation, death, sorrow, and senseless war. He wanted to get out of that horrible place as soon as possible, but he needed to help the beast that asked for his help. When he finally found the source of the voice in a mysterious cave, he was ambushed by the people who harnessed magical powers: the Beast Summoners. It was certainly a trap. There was no beast  to be found in the cave. It was just him and those people. Since he was still recovering his powers at that time, he was weak so he was immediately caught. 

The group of high-level beast summoners, after countless attempts of forming a contract, eventually made Gloom Under Night under their control. As the most powerful beast, it required five high-level beast summoners to at least summon and control it. At this point of time, Gloom Under Night was still recovering his power.  

With the new harnessed weapon, the balance of power fell and the upper hand was gained by B.S.G. As the war between  E.A and B.S.G intensified, the clashes between the two groups were easily won by the latter. Although this was the case, there was a crucial detail about the Gloom Under Night that  no one knew.  The king of the beasts can absorb not only the power of those he killed, but also their thoughts. So as he steadily gained more power, his mind of purity and kindness was replaced with sorrow, hatred, and suffering. 

Eventually, Gloom Under Night was able to recover all of his power, so he was able to easily destroy the forced contract. With his now corrupted mind, he started wreaking havoc to the entire human population with only one thing in his mind: the destruction of this world. Due to this, E.A , B.S.G and their respective allies joined together to destroy the powerful beast. In the end, they were unable to destroy the beast, so they sealed him to a hidden place. After the beast was sealed, peace also ensued but not for long.

"This threat is real. I don't have proof right now but I assure you-"

"Enough!"

The elder who talked right now was the one who has opposed Tin's father since the beginning of his leadership. As Tin's grandfather's trusted friend and the one who helped forge the peace treaty with B.S.G, he didn't like Tri's decisions. Yet, he could not oppose him since he is too powerful and most of the people in the room have the same perception as him. Now, it seemed to be the perfect opportunity to oppose him and gather allies.

"Are you hearing yourself hm?" the elder continued.

He then looked at everyone.

"Is this the kind of person who you want to lead our group!? THE ONE WHO WILL LEAD US TO DESTRUCTION IS NOT FROM SOME KIND OF FICTION. YOU! YOU ARE THE ONE WHO WILL LEAD US TO OUR DOWNFALL!" He shouted angrily as he pointed at Tin's father.

Tri looked at the elder with a threatening gaze. "Watch your tone elder."

"You think I'm scared of you? From the very start, I knew you should've not been the leader of this group. You don't really care about the well-being and the future of E.A, you only cared about revenge for what happened to your wife!"

"Don't you dare include her into this discussion." Tri gritted his teeth.

"You have been blaming B.S.G for your wife's disappearance. Even though you have no evidence and your father, who died, trying to stop your ridiculous actions, you didn't listen. Now, you are doing the same thing again! Your selfish actions for the sake of revenge will be the end of us all. I'm done listening to you!"

"I WILL KILL YOU!" Tri quickly formed a fireball on his right hand.

_"Restrain"_

The elder who is considered the closest ally of Tri used the restrain spell to stop him from using his powers.

"I'm not confident about our leader's capability to rule anymore, " the elder who used the restrained spell spoke as he avoided looking at Tri.

"TRAITOR!!!" Tin's father tried to break the restraining spell but one by one the other elders of the group started casting another form of restraining spell.

The allies who were closest to Tri seemed to be changing their attitudes toward him. Even Tin himself was not sure if he believed his father's story.

"I will kill all of you!" Due to the amount of restrain spell cast on him, Tri was on his knees unable to stand. He looked around and saw his son staring at him.

He begged to his son, "TIN, MY SON! HELP ME KILL THOSE TRAITORS!!! TIN! WE HAVE TO AVENGE YOUR MOTHER! WE HAVE TO DESTROY B.S.G!"

For the first time after his wife's disappearance, Tri called Tin his son. 

Tin looked into his father's furious eyes and his current pitiful situation. He felt that he was the one being betrayed. After all these years, he only called him son when it seemed convenient for him. Was he only needed when he wanted something related to his mother? Should he even believe his words anymore?

Why did it have to end up like this, Father? You were not like this before. In the beginning, you were a doting and loving father. You just became different after mother disappeared. You became cold, aloof, and constantly angry. You never showed any affection or care towards me. Am I not your family too? Didn't I exist too? It is as if you just disappeared like mother. It is as if you abandoned me. 

All the elders looked at Tin. With the pressure and conflicted feelings, Tin, who has been frozen since the beginning of the meeting, did not know what to do. With his father's madman behavior and all the elders' united opposition, Tin seemed to be stuck. If he helped his father escape, then nothing good will come out of it. If he doesn't help, his father would feel betrayed.

Tin's hands formed into  knuckles as they shook under the table.  _  
_

_"Restrain"_

Although it was hard for him to betray his father, it seemed to be the only logical solution for the both of them.

All the elders nodded and were proud of Tin's actions. It must be hard for him to turn away from his father, but it was a necessary action.

Tri was speechless as he looked on the ground. Of all people, his son decided to betray him. Why?

"The important members of this group have unanimously decided to remove Tri as the leader of E.A. In addition, to prevent him from creating any kind of disturbance in the future, I wished to put Tri in a maximum high-level prison while being tried. I also wish to continuously restrain his powers and any contacts from the outside of that prison even his son."

One by one, all the elders agreed. Tri was taken away by a group of security called by the elders. Tin could only be patient as the elders continued their meeting. He didn't know if he made the right decision. He is confused and unsure of what to do next. He never questioned or defied his father's actions before.

The elder who was closest to Tin saw the young one's expression. "You made the right choice. Your grandfather would be really proud of you for making the right choice, young master Tin." 

Tin could only nod at him.

The elder who vehemently opposed Tin's father spoke.

"I know everyone seemed to be lost now that the leader is gone and I'm also aware that everyone wants to know the direction of the path that this group will take. I'd like everyone to be at ease because we will discuss our current situation at this very moment. Shall we proceed?" 

Everyone nodded except for Tin who was thinking about the family he just lost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello Everyone! I was gonna write more but I felt that it was already too long....I'll just add those details later.
> 
> Anyways have you guys seen Bird Box? I really liked it. In my opinion it is better than A Quiet Place. Don't @ me......


	13. Chapter 11 - Bonding

(unedited)

More than a week has passed and the annual Beast Summoner Guild Ranking Competition is within three days. 

There was a lot of development between the relationship of E.A and B.S.G this past week. After Tin's father was overthrown, which was kept a secret to the public, the new administration has reached an agreement and decided to fix its strained relationship with the other major faction. Since Tin has still not met the requirements to lead E.A. and his future position was still being scrutinized, he was excluded from taking part in the decision-making of the new administration which consists of the elders.

Now that the new administration was sincerely committed to continuous peace with B.S.G, the elders have tasked Tin to connect more to the people of the other major faction in L.B.C campus.  By allowing Tin who is the image of E.A. interact more with B.S.G students, the rumor about the peace treaty being called off and the tension between the two factions could gradually go away. Tin could only agree with the new administration's wishes since his hands were tied. He does not have any powerful allies on his side so if he defies the elders, his position as the future heir would be jeopardized and he might be put to prison with his father. Right now, he could only earn their trust and do whatever they want. 

After the incident with his father's imprisonment, Tin became more reluctant. That day where his father seemed to finally lose his mind caused Tin to question his own actions.

He realized that he lived most of his life where his world only revolved on his father's orders. He would obey his wishes and he would never question him since he thought that it was the right thing to do. There were only the two of them who were left in the family so he thought that they had to protect one another, but it seemed that it was not the case with his father. He mostly cared about avenging mother and nothing else. This gradually caused him to be consumed by hatred where he was unable to get out. How can Tin not see this? He thought that he should have done something for his father, so this unfortunate situation would not happen. He felt useless. It was similar to when he was unable to do something to take his mother back. Now, Tin was determined to find the truth and solve the case that plagued him and his family. He decided that he would investigate the incident regarding his mother's disappearance and not avoid it anymore.

"Tin, let's go and join Ae for lunch," Pete said with a smile as he tapped Tin's shoulder.

Tin nodded as he picked up his notebook from the table and put it back in his small leather briefcase. He then stood up and followed the boy who was already being hugged by that trashy Ae next to the door.

Last week, the heir of B.S.G finally showed up from seclusion after finally contracting the rest of the Seven Deadly Sins Beasts. The first thing that he did after seclusion was to contact Pete. When the two talked, Ae realized that there was a lot of things that he missed after his almost two weeks of disappearance. Knowing how overwhelming and devastating it must have been for Pete, Ae immediately went to his side to comfort him and apologized for not being with him. Pete understood Ae's situation and he knew it must also have been hard for him too. Can already mentioned to Pete the situation regarding Ae when they met a few days before Ae's reappearance. Even though he was still in grief due to the death of his friend, Pete was much calmer after Ae showed up. 

Since Tin was tasked to act more friendly towards B.S.G students as part of the propaganda and pursuit for peace between the two groups, he decided to tag along with Pete and Ae.  Although he was still a little repulsed with B.S.G due to his father's remaining influence on him, he couldn't ignore the elders' orders. 

Because he didn't want to interact with just random beast summoners on campus, he chose to go with Ae since Pete seemed to trust him a lot. Besides, this was also a good move since if the students see the two future heirs of the two major factions being together, it will have a great positive perception on the relationship between the two groups. He would be able to achieve his goal without interacting with a lot of people. Both Pete and Ae wanted peace and knowing what happened with the recent changes in E.A.'s leadership, they could only agree with Tin even though Ae was still skeptical about him. Pete was optimistic since this  can be a great opportunity for his childhood friend to know more about the person he loved and hopefully they could become good friends in the near future.

After just one day of seeing the three together eating in the food court of the campus, there was a lot of amusement and confusion from the students. They could not imagine that the two opposing faction leaders on campus are seating and eating together on the same table. Aren't they supposedly enemies? 

As days passed by and seeing the same scene again,  the rumors surrounding the peace treaty being called off and the small aggression between the two factions on campus vanished gradually. If these two future heirs of their own respective factions are actually friends then why would their followers not follow them? Within a week, the results of Tin just sitting down with Ae had a tremendous effect on the students. There were no reported fights between the members of two factions within the campus. Some beast summoners will be seen happily hanging out with other elementalists. Overall, the campus was quite peaceful and harmonious.

After arriving at the food court and ordering some food, Tin followed the same routine that he had done this whole week when he goes with Ae and Pete for lunch. He would go and find seats for the three of them somewhere in the middle of the food court where a lot of students would see them. Ae would seat across Tin and Pete would seat next to Ae. From the point of view of a student, the interaction between the three seemed to be a glorious and wonderful event, but for the three, it was not the case. The three felt awkward when a lot of people were staring at them, but they tried to ignore the stares and acted naturally. Ae would do his own usual thing where he tries to spoil and tease Pete by being sweet. He would put his arms around Pete's waist and then he would whisper naughty things to his lover. Pete would blush immediately and would try to shove Ae's face lightly away from him. Ae would also feed him with his own spoon and give him a light peck on the cheeks without feeling any shame. (a/n: Now I feel jealous....)

The couple would do this every single day in the food court as if they are in their own world. Of course, Tin felt uncomfortable and angry. Although he did not care that he was ignored by the two at times, he did not like them being too intimate in public. The more that he interacted with them, the more Tin hated Ae.

Tin realized that when Pete was with Ae, the fair-skinned boy would have this kind of spark in his eyes and radiant smile that he never showed to him when he tried to comfort him during Ae's absence. Pete looked at Ae as if he is the only one that matters to him. At that moment, Tin knew that it was already impossible to break up the two. He hated it. How can this trashy beast summoner make Pete act this way? How can he be this happy being with him? What is so special about him? The more that he compared himself to Ae, the angrier he got. Yet he realized that he was  not angry because the two of them are together. He was angry because he realized that he was actually jealous and alone. He was jealous of their happiness and it pains him. With all the things that happened to him, he felt quite lonely, but he never revealed his real emotions to anyone. The atmosphere that he was in and the mixture of emotions that plagued him were starting to suffocate him slowly.

Finally, he stood up from his seat and excused himself from the two. 

"I'm leaving," Tin said without looking back.

Before Pete could say anything, Tin already walked away. The couple could only look at the ice prince in confusion.

After leaving the two, Tin immediately heaved a huge sigh as he entered the Transfiguration building. He composed himself as he proceeded to walk towards the parking lot. As he stood next to his luxurious Mercedes-Benz Maybach Exelero, he heard slow footsteps approaching behind him.

"Umm..Erm..Tin....."

Tin's heart immediately skipped a beat. He looked behind him and saw the little beast summoner who was nervously biting his lips as he looked at him. The elementalist was immediately frozen. He thought that Can would never approach him again after telling him to leave him alone. He did not know how to react at that moment. It has been a while since he saw him.

"..."

The little beast summoner took a deep breath as he looked at Tin in the eyes. He wanted to talk to him about many things, but especially about his life being saved by him. He would try to look for Tin around the campus but he would always miss at finding him. Now that he finally found him, he became restless and nervous.

"Thank you for saving my life," Can said as he fidgeted still maintaining eye contact.

"I'm really sorry for what I did back then in the forest. I should've not judged you immediately. My mind became clouded and attacked you," he continued.

Tin did not feel annoyed at the little beast summoner. He actually felt light. A pleasant feeling coming from just looking at Can's nervous but sincere behavior filled him. His voice somehow helped soothe the pain and loneliness that he has been feeling. It does not feel bad seeing him. It felt right. He wondered what made him feel this way. Was it because Can knew the hardships that he has been through? Was it because he understood what he was feeling? Was it his sincerity? Even though Tin pushed him away, Can somehow managed to come back.

At that moment something clicked in the young elementalist's mind.

"I don't really know how I can repay you. I don't have the money and it looks like you don't even need my money. Bu-but if there's anything that I can do for you, I'll do it! No matter how hard it is! I-I'll do it," Can said with confidence.

"Accompany me," Tin said as he maintained the indifference in his face although deep inside he was slightly happy from the anticipation.

"Huh? Erm right now?" Can asked in surprise.

"Tomorrow."

"Where? What time?" Can mumbled.

The elementalist chuckled as he approached the little beast summoner. How surprising that this boy in front of him managed to make him chuckle. 

He grabbed his phone and said, "Give me your phone number."

"I-I can't" Can said as he scratched his head.

"I thought you'd do anything I say?" Tin asked as he moved his face closer to the nervous boy in order to tease him. 

Can slowly moved backwards. "I-I don't have my phone."

Tin furrowed his brows. It has been a week. Can should've replaced that old flip phone of his by now.

"You still haven't replaced your damaged old flip phone?"

"No, not yet. I didn't have time. Wait, how did you-"  

"Give me your home address."

"Huh? Why?" Can asked as he grabbed Tin's expensive iPhone and typed his address anyways.

After typing, Tin took it back and saved the address.

"I'll pick you up tomorrow at 9 a.m. We're going to the mall," Tin answered as he went back inside his car.

"O-ok" Can nodded since he could not really say no to his savior.

"Don't be late," Tin said before he left.

"Tomorrow is my only rest day though....." he complained, but he could only cry in vain while Tin's car smoothly fades into the distance as the owner smirks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Ya All! I hope you guys had a wonderful New Year's Eve! I was home the whole time but I was able to watch fireworks by my window. It was really boring. I just ate and watched the fireworks. How was yours though? Was it exciting than mine? XD
> 
> I'm not really sure about this chapter. I felt that development was too fast. MEH! I don't want to make it too slow too so I am not really sure if I made the right decision. It's a trial and error...We'll see what happens.
> 
> UGHH my school vacation will be over next week!!! It's life so I gotta deal with it! Wish me luck tho!
> 
> Anyways, thank you guys for supporting this fanfiction.


	14. Chapter 12 - Breakfast

(unedited)

"CANTALOUPE! CANTALOUPE! WAKE UP" Ley shouted as she shook Can's body.

"Hmm...Ley, it's so early in the morning, what do you want?" Can, who was still in his bed, grumpily asked as he tried to go back to sleep.

"TIN IS HERE!! HE HAS BEEN WAITING FOR YOU FOR ABOUT AN HOUR ALREADY!!!" Ley said as she pulled the blanket away from Can.

"Hmmm......TIN!? HOW DID YOU KNOW ABOUT TIN!?" The little beast summoner suddenly realized about his meeting with Tin. He quickly got out of bed and looked at the alarm clock on the table next to his bed. It was 10:15 A.M.

Can's eyes widened as he said "SHIA!"

"Mom saw a fancy car in front of our house while cleaning outside. She then saw the heir of E.A. standing next to his car waiting. Mom talked to him then invited him in. She then asked me to wake you up. You are in big trouble," Ley explained.

Can immediately fixed his bed. 

The little beast summoner forgot that he was meeting Tin today, which is a Saturday, in the morning at 9 a.m. in front of his house. Yesterday, after his last class, Can joined Techno and Kengkla to Techno's specialized training ground to practice for the upcoming beast summoner guild ranking competition on Monday. They finished practicing late at night, so when Can got home by himself, he went straight to bed and slept. The meet-up that he was going to have the next day with Tin was forgotten due to extreme exhaustion from training. Now, he is panicking because he does not know what the ice prince will do to him for being late. 

Ley grabbed one of his older brother's arms as she asked,"Cantaloupe tell me the truth! were you lying to me last time about your sugar daddy? It was Tin right!? I knew it! You couldn't tell me because your sugar daddy is the heir of E.A! I understand it very well! I assure-"

Can covered his sister's mouth with his hand to stop her from blabbering nonsense due to her imaginative mind.

"LEY! I already told you that I don't have a sugar daddy. Stop it already!!" Can demanded as he continued to panic.

"Why is Tin friends with YOU then? I mean isn't he the so-called aloof ice prince in your university? How can a powerful, influential, charismatic, and handsome young man be your friend?"

"We're not friends!" Can denied as he immediately went downstairs to explain to Tin his situation.

"WAIT CANTALOUPE!! I still have questions," Ley said, but she could only sigh in disappointment after Can already dashed downstairs. She knew something was up between the two. There must be! Her fujoshi senses are always on point. She will figure out sooner or later about the relationship between the two. 

As soon as Can came downstairs, he heard laughter in the dining room. When he entered the dining room, he saw his mom laughing while talking to Tin as they sat down at the table. Tin, who was wearing a fancy blue denim jacket with a gray shirt and black pants, was smiling and talking in such a friendly way to his mother. What is happening? What are they talking about? Why is my mom laughing? Why is Tin smiling? 

Her mom then spotted his son who was contemplating and looking awkwardly at her and the well-known visitor.

"There he is! CANTALOUPE!!! C'mere you irresponsible kid!" her mom said as she put an ominous fake smile and performed the come-here gesture to him. 

Tin took note of Can's real name the moment Mrs. Rathavit called her son.

Can looked at her mom in a frightened manner. He knew that he was in trouble. He then gazed at Tin who had a smirk on his face as if expecting some good show to happen. 

The little beast summoner, who was wearing an oversized white shirt and black shorts, looked back at his mother. He cautiously and slowly approached her  knowing very well what she was going to do to him.

"CANTALOUPE! Hurry up! Don't be so slow!" His mother finally lost her patience. Can immediately walked towards her and after standing next to her, his left ear was suddenly pulled with great force.

"Why did you let Tin wait outside for more than an hour hm!? You promised to meet him outside at 9 a.m.! How can you let such an important friend wait! If I wasn't outside, then he would've probably waited longer!" 

Can flinched from the pain. 

"Ma! It hurts! I'm sorry. I forgot! I was training yesterday and when I came home last night I was too tired. I'm sorry for forgetting," Can apologized to her mother as he tried to pull away from his mother's pinches and pulling, but he was unsuccessful.

When Can looked at Tin's direction, he saw that the latter was silently chuckling. It was the first time seeing this kind of expression from the ice prince. Although it was pleasant to see that he was finally laughing after knowing that he went through difficulties in the past,  Can was the one who was suffering in return. Damn you Tin for laughing!

"Don't apologize to me. Apologize to this gentleman now or I will remove your left ear," Can's mother demanded.

"But Ma! I said I for-ouch!" 

Before Can could finish his excuse, his mother pinched his left ear harder.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Tin. I won't do it again. Please forgive me!" Can said as he pleaded to Tin while still dealing with the agonizing pain.

Tin just stared at Can. He was amused at the scene that he was witnessing. After a few seconds, he finally said something.

"It's okay now Mrs. Rathavit. It's not actually a big deal for me. I forgive your son," Tin said with a smile on his face which looked like an angel's smile. It immediately made Can a little uncomfortable. It looked more of a devil's smile more than anything.

"You are so nice, Tin! I'm really sorry about my son. See this Cantaloupe? This is the type of guy you should look up to," Can's mother said while admiring Tin as she finally let go of Can's reddening left ear.

Can caressed his pitiful left ear. Although he wanted to complain, he could not do it since it was his fault to begin with. Still, he felt really embarrassed because he was scolded by his mother in front of Tin. Of all the people, it had to be him. How unlucky!

Ley, who was standing by the entrance of the dining room, saw the entire scene. She just snickered after seeing  his brother suffer in the hands of their mom.  Can heard his sister's snickering behind him. He looked at her unhappily. You betrayer!

All of a sudden, Can's stomach grumbled. He was already embarrassed by the event earlier. Now, he is way more embarrassed. Why am I so unlucky today?

"Can, you are really shameless," Ley said as she laughed harder. She was unable to hide her laughter anymore. Can's face turned red like a tomato.

Mrs. Rathavit suddenly felt a little bad about her son. She thought that she overdid it. She knew that her son was working really hard this past week to train for the upcoming beast summoner guild ranking competition. The two of them had an argument before when she learned that he was joining the competition, but she immediately realized that she had been way too harsh at controlling Can. Her method of protecting Can seemed to harm him more. In the end, she eventually decided that she should not stop Can from doing the things he wanted to do. 

"How about this? I'll make breakfast for everyone? You haven't eaten yet right, Tin? How about eating breakfast with us before you guys go?" Can's mother happily suggested  as she looked at Tin in anticipation.

Can and Ley looked at one another anxiously. They know how horrible of a cook their mom is. After their father died, their mother took over to cook for them. The two siblings would usually  pretend to like the food that she makes so they would not hurt her feelings. Eventually, they had enough and Can took the initiative to learn how to cook for the family. As years passed by, he became really good at cooking.

"If it's not too troublesome for you Mrs. Rathavit and your family, I wouldn't mind having breakfast with you," Tin politely asked as he maintained his angelic smile.

"Wait! Ma! How about this, as an apology, make Can cook our breakfast," Ley gazed at Can as she nodded at him to let him know that he has no choice. 

Can, of course, could not let their mother make food as much as possible or they will have to go through inescapable torture. He can only agree with Ley's plan.

Tin seemed to witness the siblings' gestures to one another as they communicated and cooperated.

"Ley is right! I'll cook breakfast for us as a form of apology!" Can said with a cheerful smile on his face as he tried to persuade his mother.

"But how about your trip to the mall with Tin? If you cook then you will waste more time. You still need to change too," Mrs. Rathavit asked.

"No, Tin won't mind. Right Tin?" Can said as he looked at Tin nervously. The young elementalist could sense Can's worried expression and his urgent request for approval. Tin could only smile at him.

"I wouldn't mind waiting a little bit more."

Can and Ley quickly sighed in relief. 

"Alright, then it's decided! Can will cook our breakfast!" Ley said happily. She is happy because she won't suffer from her mother's awful cooking. She loves her mother, but she had enough of her food.

"Not so fast! I'll help out to make the process faster," the siblings' mother said gleefully and confidently as she stood up from her seat.

"Oh no," Can and Ley both told themselves.

Can and his mother started preparing breakfast, but it was mostly Can who cooked the food. Ley who joined them eventually was mainly distracting their mother so she would not be able to cook. Tin who was sitting down observed the family cooking breakfast. They were laughing, bickering, and talking non-stop to one another as they prepared breakfast. Overall, they are a simple but loving family. There was a really warm atmosphere in this household and Tin felt that warmth. How he wished he had a family like his. 

After 30 minutes, the Rathavit family finished cooking breakfast or to be exact, Can finally finished preparing the food. He prepared an avocado toast with fried egg, ham and cheese hot pocket, omelet waffle, pancakes. They seemed to be a lot but since Tin is here, Can thought it should be enough for everyone. He wondered if a rich person like him would like simple food that he prepared. He hoped he would not complain about the taste.

Tin was a little surprised that Can could actually cook. When he looked at the food in front of him, he was amazed that for the first time, they truly looked appetizing to him. The maid at his mansion would cook sophisticated dishes, but all of them were tasteless.

"Let's eat Tin," Mrs. Rathavit said as she smiled. 

Tin nodded. He slowly grabbed the plate of avocado toast fried egg  and put a piece on his plate. He then proceeded to take a bite of the toast.

Can, Ley, and their mother both looked at Tin in anticipation. They hoped that Tin would like the taste. When they saw Tin took a bite of Can's toast, their breathing stopped for a bit. After seeing that the heir of E.A. did not throw up from a commoner's food and has a pleasant expression on his face, Can and his family were relieved.

"Try Can's special ham and cheese hot pocket! It's pretty good," Mrs. Rathavit said as she put a piece on Tin's plate. Can who was eating got embarrassed all of a sudden. Tin looked at Can's embarrassed expression; He immediately smiled. He grabbed a piece of Can's specialty and its aroma made Tin raised his brows. It smelled really good. He then proceeded to take a bite out of it. It was truly delicious. After finishing the hot pocket on his hand, he grabbed another one. He grabbed and ate until none were left on the plate. After realizing that there were none of Can's ham and cheese hot pockets, Tin became a little disappointed. He did not realize that when he was eating and grabbing another hot pocket repeatedly earlier, Can and the other members of his family were stunned. He really liked Can's food!

"I-I can make more if you want," Can shyly said. 

When Tin saw that his family was staring at him happily, he finally noticed that he ate all of the hot pockets on the table.

"It's okay," Tin said although he did want to eat more. He never had such tasteful yet simple dish for such a long time.

"Now, now don't be embarrassed! When you come next time, I'll make sure that Can makes more for you," Mrs. Rathavit said.

"Right!" Ley continued.

Tin could only smile and nod. 

Can, his family, and Tin continued their meal while talking. Can's family would always include Tin to their conversation in order to make him feel like he is part of their family. The young elementalist did not mind joining the conversation and would occasionally chuckle. He truly felt welcomed in the family even though they only met them that morning. He was glad that Can woke up late today. 

After some observation, Can acknowledged that Tin could actually converse normally and be friendly with other people. If this was the case, Can could still be friends with him, right? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey ya all! I'm sorry for the delayed update. My school started this week and it's hectic for me! I decided that I will update once every week on Friday/Saturday.
> 
> I was gonna add more here but I felt it was kinda long already. Well more chapters to write for me then!
> 
> Anyways, as always, thank you for supporting this fanfiction!


	15. Chapter 13 - Investment

(unedited)

After breakfast, Can's mother asked her son to quickly change. Not wanting her mother to get angry and pull his ear once again, Can did not bother complaining. He immediately nodded and went upstairs to change clothes. His sister took the plates from the dining table and washed them while their mother continued to talk with their honored guest.

"I still can't believe that you guys are friends. That son of mine would always surround himself with his beasts most of the time and disregard people," Mrs. Rathavit said as she chuckled while shaking her head in disbelief.

"How did you two meet?" she curiously asked. Ley who was washing the dishes immediately paid attention to their conversation.

Tin, all of a sudden, had a flashback of the first encounter that he had with the little beast summoner in the Transfiguration Building. He remembered Can's pouting lips as he raised his head to look at him in an intimidating manner. The little beast summoner thought that he was going to kill that little red jelly beast of his even though he was not really planning to. It was definitely an amusing scene. Now that Tin thought about it, he actually finds Can rather cute when he got angry. Back then he was still unsure and indifferent towards Can, but now it is different. As the two of them interacted more,  Tin somehow gets more attached to him and cannot get rid of thinking about him. With his feelings becoming more certain towards Can, he has decided to do things to keep him by his side.

"I met him by accident at the university. I was walking back to the parking lot then all of a sudden a jelly beast jumped in front of me. It seemed that the beast was lost because the owner was not around. Soon after Can came and saw me with his beast. The rest was history," Tin said smiling while leaving out some details regarding the confrontation.

"Ohh that's Gucci!" Ley shouted as she interrupted the two. Tin and Mrs. Rathavit simultaneously looked at her. After realizing how she reacted, she quickly turned her head in embarrassment and continued washing the dishes.

"Well, I'm just glad that Can met such a gentleman and a charismatic person like you. Please teach and guide him well. If he does anything irresponsible like this again, tell me! I'll personally discipline him!" Mrs. Rathavit cheekily grin as she formed a fist with her right hand and bumped it to her left palm.

"I understand," Tin said as he nodded. 

After some time, Can finished changing. He was wearing what he considered a 'fashionable' outfit when going to a mall: a simple white shirt, black jacket with some rip on it, blue jeans and his worn-out black converse. When he went downstairs and walked towards the dining room, everyone looked at him with raised eyebrows and surprised look. Is he that good with fashion that everyone looked so surprised? He has been wearing this kind of outfit for a long time now so what's with the look that everyone had?

"We should go now Tin," Can said as he faced Tin.

"With that look?" Ley  said sarcastically.

"What do you mean?" Can asked in confusion.

"If you stand next to Tin, people will think you are a robber," Ley face-palmed.

"You're not some gangster going to someone's house to get their money; You're going with Tin!" Can's mother added.

Can was a little hurt. He thought he actually looked cool. He looked at Tin, but he was just glancing at him from head to toe.

"Cantaloupe go change, I'll help pick your clothes," Ley recommended. 

"But I like this outfit. Also, the rest of my clothes are in the washer right now," Can tried to  protest.

"It's okay. It's not a problem," Tin finally said.

"Are...are you sure?" Mrs. Rathavit asked worriedly.

Tin nodded.

"I'll take care of him," he continued as he reassured Mrs. Rathavit.

Can's mom could only sigh. She stood up and quickly went to her bedroom. She then went out and handed Can some money. Usually, Can would get a monthly allowance from her mother but it would be gone before the month even ended. He spent the money on things for his beasts, but in the end, none would be left for himself.

"Cantaloupe, go buy yourself some new clothes. I don't want anyone to think that I'm not taking care of you. Don't buy unnecessary things again," she said threateningly.

"O-okay, Thank you mom," Can did not hesitate to get the free money from his mother. 

"Tin, I will leave my son to you. If he makes any trouble, please don't hesitate to tell me."

Once again Tin nodded with an angelic smile plastered on his face.

Every time Tin would smile, Ley and her mother's hearts would flutter in delight. He is truly an angel according to them. Can on the other hand thinks that Tin's angel smile is suspicious.

After Mrs. Rathavit told her son to behave, Tin and Can left the house. 

The two headed towards Tin's expensive car. The latter could not help but admire the car. 

"Get in," Tin said who was already inside and sitting on the driver's seat.

Can immediately felt afraid because he felt like if he touch any parts of the car, it might accidentally break. He is well aware that he would not be able to pay for any damages or scratches on the car even if he worked for years. He gulped and slowly opened the door. After carefully sitting down  next to the driver's seat, he heaved a small sigh of relief.

Tin who saw the little beast summoner's movements with his peripheral was amused. The young elementalist looked at his direction saying, "Wear your seat belt."

Can awkwardly nodded. He somehow felt a little conscious and uncomfortable when Tin looks at him every time ever since this morning. He pulled the seat belt but unfortunately, he was unable to pull it properly.

The person on the driver's seat seemed to notice his struggle. He immediately leaned forward towards Can to reach for his seat belt. As he leaned forward, he deliberately moved his face closer to the little beast summoners face while looking directly into his eyes. Even though they were so close that their noses almost brushed against one another, there was still a small distance between the two.  As Tin pulled and fastened Can's seat belt and started driving, his passenger has a dumbfounded look. His heart suddenly skipped a beat. He wondered what just happened? 

The journey to the mall was silent. The two didn't talk; there was no music either. Can did not know what to talk about with him, so he decided to just look outside the car window for the meantime. Tin was naturally a not talkative person except when asked questions. 

After half an hour of what seemed to be an eternity of silence, the two finally arrived at the mall. 

"We're here," Tin said as he parked the car in the mall's parking lot.

"This...this is the mall you are talking about?" Can stuttered. The little beast summoner thought  that they are going to a small mall where cheap stuff was being sold, but he was wrong. The place that they went to was an exclusive  and well-known mall for the filthy rich who have a membership. It was a three-story building with a golden-colored exterior and different real gold decorations. It was heavily guarded by many people wearing black suits. This mall truly reflects its name "Heaven's Gold Mall."

"Mm," Tin said as he started walking towards the entrance of the mall. Can immediately followed Tin behind. 

"Why are we here exactly?" Can asked.

"You'll see."

Can was confused. The money that he has was not probably enough to even get tap water in this place. He felt more nervous as they got closer to the entrance that was guarded by six people.

"Good Morning, Mr. Phiravich," the captain guard who was bald said.

Tin ignored him and went inside. Can who was about to get in was suddenly grabbed by one of the guards.

"Only members are allowed to enter,"  the guard who looked young said in a serious tone as he held Can's arm firmly.

Tin immediately looked back.

"Don't touch him!" he said in a menacing tone. Immediately, the guards felt enormous pressure and got intimidated.

"He's an acquaintance of yours, Mr. Phiravich?" the captain guard asked nervously.

"Would I let him stick to me that close if he wasn't with me?" he asked with annoyance evident in his voice.

"We are sorry," the captain guard immediately gave a command to the young guard to let Can go.

"We are sorry our honored guest, please forgive us," the captain guard bowed towards Can's direction. Simultaneously, the rest of the guards at the entrance bowed their head and apologized.

Can felt really awkward. 

"It-it's okay. It's no big deal at all. You don't have to bow," he said as he scratched the back of his head as he chuckled to defuse the tension.

Tin who was still annoyed grabbed Can's wrist and dragged him inside.

As the two went in, the guards sighed in relief. They thought that they were all going to die.

"Tin, you didn't have to be that mad. They're just doing their job. It's fine already," Can said as he tried to free himself from Tin's grasp.

Tin continued to walk and drag Can until they entered the elevator. He pressed the button for the third floor then faced Can. He decided to let him go even though he hesitated to do so.

"..." 

There was complete silence while the two was in the elevator. Tin did not know how to explain the situation but all he knew that he got annoyed when the guard touched Can. 

"Ok, so why are we here again? What do you want to buy? What am I supposed to do here?" Can asked. He really wanted to know why they were here.

"Help me buy a new phone and clothes," he said while still maintaining an indifferent tone.

"Huh? Of all people, I think you asked the wrong person," Can asked confusedly. Did Tin forget about what Ley and his mother said about his fashion sense? Also, why would he need to buy a new phone? Was it also damaged? 

"I don't want anyone. I want you," Tin said as he looked directly into the boy's eyes with seriousness.

"I wouldn't mind helping you out but don't blame me if it turns out to be a disaster," Can said as he immediately looked away from Tin's gaze. Why can't I look at him directly? It wasn't the case before!

"I won't," Tin answered as he started to walk outside the elevator and towards the branded clothing store.

Can willingly followed Tin close behind since he was afraid that the other guards on the floor would think that he is a robber like what her little sister described. 

When they entered the place, they were greeted by a young, refreshing, and beautiful blonde lady.

"Good morning, Mr. Phiravich," she said as she bowed politely with a slight smile.

Tin asked indifferently, "Show me your latest collection." 

"Of course, this way," the blonde lady raised her head and pointed towards the direction of where the latest collection can be found.

As Tin walked in another person followed him closely. The lady furrowed her eyebrows and felt irked immediately after seeing the boy with an awful appearance that was next to Tin but kept her polite appearance.

"Good morning," Can said to the blonde lady as he smiled. 

Usually, the blonde lady would greet her customers with utmost politeness and respect, but judging the appearance of the boy who was with Tin, he seemed to be a nobody and a person of the lower-class. She decided not to pay too much attention to him. 

The lady nodded at Can as she turned around and started guiding Tin enthusiastically. 

When they arrived at the center of the store, the lady immediately presented the new outfits that arrived this week. Tin judged and carefully selected different mix and match of clothing.

"Do you have size small for this particular shirt?" Tin asked the sales lady.

"Yes, but Mr. Phiravich, aren't you medium size?" she asked confusedly.

"Who said it's for me?" Tin said as he looked towards Can's direction.

"Huh!?" Both Can and the sales lady were stunned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello GUYS! Another update! Everyone is getting sick these days so make sure to keep yourself healthy. 
> 
> Yesterday, I went to a boba place and bought Thai Tea with Boba....It was really good. I'd probably frequently buy more boba. What's do you guys order at a boba store? Any other recommendations?
> 
> Anyways, as always thank you guys for reading and continuously supporting this


	16. Chapter 14 - Kiss Good Night

(unedited)

"Is there a problem?" Tin asked the saleslady.

"Of course not sir!" the blonde lady said as she shook her head. She was truly surprised that the person who was with Mr. Phiravich could actually be special. Although she was  not quite sure what was the relationship between the two, she figured that she could not risk offending this boy who looked like a nobody with his appearance. It is her first time seeing this person in this establishment and is very well informed of the people who come here. She is sure that he is not from a wealthy and well-known family since he does not portray the presence of being one at all and that is evident with his poor quality and taste of clothing.

"I'll check our storage from the back and look for the size you wanted. Now if you'll excuse me," she said while keeping her graceful manner as she walked towards the storage room of the store.

Can immediately stood next to Tin who was busy selecting new clothes.

"You are buying clothes for me!?" Can asked while still confused about Tin's odd behavior.

Tin grabbed one of the expensive clothes from the clothing rack and tried to measure it against Can's small body.

"Are you listening to me Tin?" Can asked once again as he shoved the clothing back to Tin.

"You don't have to pay for it if that's the problem," Tin finally answered as he looked at Can who seemed to be annoyed. How cute.

"I do! I don't want you to buy me expensive clothing. I don't need your money too," the little beast summoner retorted as his eyes furrowed. Is this how filthy rich people treat us poor people?

The little beast summoner's reaction seemed to be unexpected to Tin. Why is he mad? I'm giving him free items. Shouldn't he be happy? When I buy expensive gifts for Pete on his birthday, he would usually be happy. Why is it not the same with Can? He thought that buying Can expensive items would put him on his good side.

Can saw Tin's confused reaction. He figured that since most likely he never had friends around him aside from Pete, who is also a rich person, he did not really know how to interact with others.

"Tin, I don't need your charity just because I'm poor." The little beast summoner sighed.

"If this is about my family's comments about my clothing, you don't need to bother. I'm going to buy my own clothes but not here."

Tin did not like the idea of him buying low-quality and trashy clothing somewhere. He wants to buy Can's clothes! 

Although the clothes in this particular mall are expensive, they are not used just for fashion. The Golden Heaven is quite special, because it is one of the stores that offer specialized items. Each floor of the mall offers different items for different level:  the first floor offers low-level items, the second floor offers mid-level items, and the third floor offers high-level items. The clothing and other types of equipment found in the Golden Heaven have different beneficial properties. For example, a shirt that is bought from this mall can increase a person's defense against elemental attacks; another example could be a pair of shoes that can enhance a person's speed. Tin found out that Can just broke through the higher level according to Pete when the two met. This is part of the reason why Tin dragged Can to the third floor and buy him new clothes. Aside from trying to be on his good side, he did not want Can to buy any clothing from cheap stores that offer little to no benefits.

"Then consider it as an investment," Tin said as he continued looking for new clothing.

"An investment?" Can asked.

"You owe me your life right? How can I ask you to do things for me if something were to happen to you hm? At least with these, I can be assured that you are protected," Tin continued.

"That's true that I owe you my life but-"

"You mentioned that you're going to do what I want right? Just accept what I tell you to do and no more complaints," Tin said with seriousness in his tone as he interrupted the boy. 

Can could not say anything and was stunned. This arrogant rich man!

The blonde saleslady found the size that her client wanted and returned. She then handed it to Mr. Phiravich.

Tin then gave the various clothes and pairs of shoes that he picked out and gave them to Can.

"Try them on," Tin said. He then instructed Can what to wear first.

Can could only nod. He followed the blonde saleslady who guided him to the fitting room.

The young elementalist sat down on an elegant wooden cushioned chair while waiting for Can to try the new clothes he personally picked.

After some time, Can came out of the fitting room and to the blonde saleslady's surprise, the boy looked really cute with the outfit. Mr. Phiravich's fashion sense is truly impeccable! Tin saw the blonde lady's reaction towards Can; he was unhappy. Yet, when he looked at Can's appearance after he came out of the fitting room awkwardly, there was satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment in his heart. 

Can was wearing a dark red checkered long-sleeve with a jacket with constellation design, black jeans, and white shoes with three stripes on each side.

"What..what do you think?" Can asked since the saleslady and Tin were just staring silently at him.

"You look great in that outfit," the saleslady sincerely said as she complimented Can.

Can blushed from the compliment and then looked at Tin as if expecting the same.

Tin was just silent as he stared at Can who seemed to blush from the saleslady's compliment. Can could not help but once again avoid Tin's silent gaze and looked down. While he avoided Tin's gaze, the young elementalist glared at the saleslady. Immediately afterward the innocent blonde saleslady felt chills in her body. She looked at Mr. Phiravich and saw his cold and glaring gaze towards her. What's happening? Did I do anything wrong?

Tin pointed his right index finger towards the saleslady still maintaining his cold gaze towards her.

_"Lightning Zap"_

A small white light immediately illuminated the young elementalist's index finger as a lightning bolt was shot. The blonde lady flinched and instinctively cowered in fear. 

"Eeek!" the blonde lady expressed inaudibly as she covered her head with her arms .

Tin smirked at the lady's reaction. He actually directed the lightning bolt toward's Can's jacket to test if it has strong defenses against lightning attack as described. Before the lightning bolt could even make an impact to Can's jacket, it completely dissolved. It just meant that the jacket does have the capability to absorb lightning attacks.

Everything happened too fast that Can did not know what exactly happened. When he looked up, the jacket already absorbed the lightning bolt. He was a little mystified when he saw that the blonde lady looked startled and scared. She was staring at Tin shakily. Meanwhile, Tin disregarded her stares and proceeded to look at Can with a small smile.

"I'll take them and the other ten sets that I picked for him," Tin said as he stood up from the chair.

"You don't want me to try the rest?" Can asked. He was a little disappointed that Tin did not say anything about the outfit that he is wearing. Although, he should not really complain at all. This time, he looked directly into Tin's eyes as the latter approached him. 

"They will all look good on you, just like this one."

"Are you sure?" Can was delighted that he complimented him as he blushed immediately. 

"Trust me." Tin put his right hand on Can's shoulder and it gave a sort of electric shock feeling all over the little beast summoner's body. Can seemed to be unable to avoid Tin's sincere gaze. He seemed to be also captured not only by those eyes, but also the words that he uttered.

"Oh..ok, I'll go back and change quickly..." Can immediately snapped out from his daze and immediately rushed back to the fitting room. When he went in, his back was against the door  and was breathing heavily. He raised his hand and put it against his heart. It was beating really fast. His face, as he looked at the mirror, was turning red. What is happening seriously? Is he sick? Is he going to die?

After calming down, he changed back to his normal outfit and went back out. He saw Tin by the register and was ready to pay for the clothes that he bought for him. He approached him and put the clothes and shoes on the counter. The blonde lady seemed to be still shaking while looking down. He wondered if she is sick too like him. Tin then got his wallet out and took his shining black credit card. Can's attention focused on the card that the young elementalist was holding. Isn't that the ultimate rich people's card with unlimited credit! With that, he could buy anything without any problem! He knew that he is rich, but he didn't know that he is in the top 1% of the richest people on the planet! (A/N: Talk about being a sugar daddy.....)

Tin threw the black card on the counter as if it is not important. It made Can gasp in horror. This rich bastard! 

The saleslady took the black card and charged Tin appropriately. After the transaction, the clothing and shoes were put in a specialized small black pouch. This small black pouch has a huge amount of space inside despite its size. The lady handed it to Mr. Phiravich still shakily.

"Tha-thank you Mr. Phiravich! I hope the two of you wi-will have a great day," she said as she tried her best to calm down, but she was unable to. She was just too scared. She still does not know how she offended him in anyway.

"Let's go," Tin said as he ignored the still shaking saleslady.

"Thank you so much.  You should take some rest. You don't look too good," the innocent Can whispered with concern as he left the store.

It was a good thing that Tin did not hear Can's whispers of concern towards the saleslady. If he did, she might have faced more bitter treatment without still knowing the cause of such treatment. In the future, if Tin still decides to shop in that establishment which is probably unlikely, he will most likely keep the same attitude that he had towards her although he has already cold attitude to begin with.

The two went to a  store that sells smartphones. As the two walked in, Can's eyes  and mouth widened in astonishment. 

Tin looked at him and a smile on his face formed. If he is happy, he is happy too. If Can asks him to buy the whole store, he would do it without any hesitation. That's how fast he developed his feelings towards him and could not explain it. It is just what it is and he does not hate it. 

"Let's check them out," The elementalist said as he walked to the first table that has various sets of smartphones. Can nodded and followed him.

Tin took one of the phones and showed it to Can. Since Can seemed to only know how to work with old flip phones, Tin had to teach him how to navigate the smartphone. Can was definitely mesmerized by this technology. He tried to use various applications of the phone and even if he was clumsy at using it, there was a glimmer in his eyes and a happy expression on his face as he entertained himself with a game app.

"Do you like it?" Tin asked after seeing Can enjoying himself with the smartphone.

Can looked at him and nodded. Although he liked the smartphone, the moment he saw the price, he felt dispirited. It is just too expensive.

"I'll be back." Tin walked towards one of the employees of the store.

Can just went back at playing the game on the phone since it might be the last time he will be able to touch such expensive phone.

After some time, Tin returned with a small plastic bag .

"Let's go," he said.

Can let go of the phone that he was holding  in hesitation and nodded.

The two went around various stores. By the time they finished, it was already dark. Can, for the first time in a long time, had so much fun going to the mall. Usually, when he goes with his sister to the mall, it would just be him holding her purchased items. Today, even though he did not buy anything and it was just Tin spending money, Can unexpectedly was satisfied. Tin was actually fun to be with even though he did not talk that much like him the whole time. As they interacted with one another, the awkwardness that Can felt disappeared.

Tin, although it is not evident on his face, was filled with pure bliss.  Even though none of the items in the store was interesting to him, seeing Can having fun with various items made the trip entertaining for him. Spending time with him made this trip to the mall a great experience since he considers the little beast summoner special to him. 

After the two left the mall, Tin drove Can back to his home. Can went out of the car and stood in front of his house's gate. Tin turned his car's engine off and went out to follow Can.

"I had fun, Tin. Thank you," Can said as a huge smile was plastered on his face which seemed to brighten the night sky further than the twinkling stars.

"I did too." Tin was really pleased with the little summoner's reaction. He took a small red pouch from his pocket which contained all the items that he bought for Can aside from the clothes. He held Can's right hand and put the pouch on it. Can looked at Tin in confusion. He thought that Tin just only bought him clothing and the rest of the items he bought was his. The small black pouch that contains the clothing and shoes was in one of his pockets already.

Tin leaned forward and tilted his head. He then closed the distance between his face to Can's and took a quick light kiss on the little beast summoner's lips. As he looked into Can's widening eyes, he whispered "Good night." He smiled then returned back to his car.

Can who was still processing what happened was frozen in place. As he felt his lips with the touch of his hand, the whole scenario of him being kissed was replayed over and over again. It made his face feel really hot as it turned red like a tomato. His heart started to beat really fast once again while he slightly trembled. That was his first kiss and Tin took it away from him. Why did he kiss me!?

Can was about to ask Tin why he did it and complain but by the time he composed himself, the man in question was already gone.

"Why!?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehe I promised that I'm gonna publish another chapter yesterday although you probably did not notice. Anyways I want to get over this and move on to the competition already so here it is. I hope you enjoy it!


	17. Chapter 15 - First Day of Competition

(unedited)

Today was the day of the Beast Summoner Guild Ranking Competition. The university grounds were covered with a huge flow of people: competitors, students, different factions' members, the media, and many others. The atmosphere in the campus was bustling with noise and excitement since this kind of competition is one of the biggest events in the prestigious university. According to many students, this year's competition will be fiercer than last year. New powerful challengers have emerged and registered for the event. Beast summoners in the top 100 have worked hard and trained harder too.

While everyone talks enthusiastically about the event and betting who from the top 10 will be replaced as they entered the open coliseum where the competition will take place, Can was currently in line with the other participants in a blue portable gazebo that stood up outside of the coliseum. In order for the participants to challenge someone from the top 100 today, they have to list through a computer the people who they would like to challenge. These participants do not have any limit on how many people they could challenge. If they want to challenge everyone from the top 100, they are free to do so, but no one is that arrogant and stupid. They will strategically issue a challenge to a person who they are confident enough that they will be able to defeat.

For the beast summoners in the top 100, they could also challenge others who are in the current ranking to attempt to attain a higher place in the system. Still, they have to defend their current ranks from the participants. Unfortunately, they do not have the right to refuse the challenges from them. The only option that they have is to choose which of the challengers they would like to duel first. This might seem an unfair system, but this is actually quite beneficial to the people of the top 100. The more challengers that they face, the more experience they would gain which would help them level up.

While waiting in line, Can looked around to look for a certain someone who has been bothering his mind since his first kiss was stolen. Unfortunately, due to the huge crowd that kept flooding the university grounds, he was unable to locate him. Last night, this person texted Can through his new phone and told him that he was going to watch his performance in today's competition. Before this person gave the smartphone that he bought for Can, he took the initiative to put his phone number on it so he could contact the little beast summoner. Since then, he has been texting Can although the messages that he has been sending were only brief greetings such as "Goodmorning" and "Goodnight." He does not seem to really know how to strike a conversation with Can through his phone, so he could only come up with such brief text messages. As for Can, when he received these messages, he could only stare at his phone screen and think about different responses. To be exact, Can does not know how he should even talk to him after he stole his first kiss! He wanted to ask him about it, but he could not gather the courage to do so. He was too embarrassed to ask. In the end, he could only text the same greeting as Tin. When Tin texted him about attending the competition to watch him, it made Can nervous. He does not know if it is because he did not want to disappoint him or it is due to him being there physically. This text made him restless the entire night.

When his friends, Techno and Kengkla, saw the dark circles that formed around his eyes, they thought that Can was just nervous about the competition. It is his first competition after all. Techno who was also in line behind Can tried to comfort and motivate him.

"You're going to be fine Can, trust me! You can do this," Techno said as he tapped his right hand against Can's shoulders.

"He's right Can," Kengkla who was next to Techno reassured while smiling.

When it was time for Can to choose his opponents, Techno said confidently, "You should choose someone from the top 10. If you were able to almost defeat me and Kengkla who are currently in 6th and 7th place, you will have no problem taking someone below our ranks." During the tough training that the three of them had in Techno's specialized training ground with their summoned beasts, Can showed unexpected great potential. Even though he just recently broke through the higher level, he was able to keep up with Kengkla and Techno's who were both a Green High-Level Beast Summoners. Even though Can is one grade level below from the two, the gap of power between him and them should have been huge, yet it was not the case. Can was able to put himself in equal footing with them. If given more time, he might have surpassed them. It made Kengkla and Techno amazed and proud. (A/N: Refer to index for more info about levels...)

Can trusts the words of his friend so when he logged into the system, he chose the one who currently is on top 8.

"Trump Phurin."

Can clicked the challenge button that was next to Trump Phurin. For today, he will only challenge one person. If he wins, then he is thinking of just staying at that rank and defend it from other challengers. If he fails to defeat the current rank 8th person, then he will just try to challenge the person who is currently top 9.

After sending the first challenge, it was Techno's turn. Since it is crowded in the gazebo, Techno told Can to just wait for them outside the gazebo. The little beast summoner agreed and walked out. Currently, Techno wants to challenge the current 5th placer. This time he was confident that he would be able to take 5th place. As for Kengkla, he was not really interested at moving up the ranks. He just wanted to be with Techno. When Can went outside of the gazebo, he once again tried to look for Tin. He wanted to know where this elementalist is. At that very moment when he moved forward, he accidentally bumped into someone.

"Watch where you are going you brat!" a slightly taller young man exclaimed to Can.

After hearing the obvious annoying voice, Can looked up at the taller young man whose eyebrows were raised in annoyance.

"I'm sorry," Can said with sincerity as to try to avoid unnecessary commotion.

Judging by the appearance of the young man who seemed to be the same age as him, he looked to be one of those arrogant spoiled rich brats. He seemed to be also rather popular with all his fans and two guards surrounding him. How unlucky he had to bump with this guy!

"Sorry wouldn't do it. Hmmph!" the young man said to Can as he sneered.

"What do you mean?" Can asked confusedly.

"I want you to go on your knees and bow," the arrogant young man demanded while smiling. With his family background, anyone who dares offend him would not be able to get off that easily. The followers of the arrogant young man started to snicker at Can.

"Who do you think you are? I already apologized to you," Can said as he tried to stand his ground. He would not let himself get bully by this kind of people. He already had enough!

"You don't know who he is!?" one of the young man's fanboy said in surprise.

"No, and I'm not interested in knowing," Can announced while staring at the arrogant young man. So what if he is famous? He was really rude to him!

"YOU!!!" one of the fanboys shouted in anger.

"What is happening here, Can?" Techno asked as he and Kengkla approached their friend.

"I see why you don't have any kind of respect," the young man said with hatred in his tone of voice.

"Ahh, the arrogant mister always rank number 8th, Trump Phurin," Techno said sarcastically as Kengkla smirked.

"TSK! YOU'LL SEE! THIS TIME I WILL SURELY DESTROY THE BOTH OF YOU," Trump said as his arrogant demeanor changed to explosive anger while looking menacingly to both Kengkla and Techno.

"Sure, sure. Let's go Can. Don't waste your time talking to sh*tty people," Techno said as he put his arm around Can's shoulder and walked out towards the direction of the entrance of the coliseum. Both Can and Kengkla nodded then proceeded to ignore Trump and his followers. Of course, the people behind them looked at them in contempt as they left. Who do those bastards think they are? They will regret this for sure.

Trump clicked his tongue. He will get his revenge sooner on those three for sure. As he was walking towards the gazebo to issue a challenge, his phone got a notification about the people who want to challenge him. As he scrolled down at the list of the challengers, a certain name immediately caught his attention.

"Can Rathavit huh?" Trump whispered to himself as he covered the evil smile on his face with his phone. He looked at the direction where Can and his friends went. A glint in his eyes showed.

"I will show you what happens to those who offend me," he said to himself as he accepted Can's challenge.

Meanwhile, the moment Can and his friends entered the giant coliseum that was already almost full with people sitting on the bleachers, the person who Can has been looking for has actually been observing his movements since the small commotion with Trump. When he saw that one of Can's acquaintance put his arm around him when they entered the stadium, it made his mood a little unpleasant. What is their relationship? Why does he have to put his hand around Can? The more that Tin thought about it, the more that his mood became sour.

"What's the matter Tin?" one of the elders with a long white beard who was sitting next to him asked with curiosity.

"Nothing," Tin said while trying to maintain his indifference.

"The competition is about to start. This year's competition should be interesting," the elder continued as he stroke his beard.

Tin just ignored the elder who was continuously talking about the previous competitions and refocused his attention to the little beast summoner.

Can and the other challengers were being assigned to one of the dozen stone platform arenas. Since there are more than a hundred challengers competing that day, the university has built twelve huge stone platform arenas in the open coliseum to allow duels to happen more simultaneously. After being assigned, Can immediately walked towards to the first stone platform arena. Kengkla and Techno were both assigned to 12th platform.

When the organizers finished assigning the challengers to their respective arenas, they started commencing the competition.

On each platform, a referee was assigned. Before a duel starts, the commentator will have to announce the name of the participants. There were also huge screens that were floating above the middle of the coliseum to highlight the duels that were going to occur and to provide the viewers with better view.

"For our first duel of the day, current Rank 8 Trump Phurin will attempt to defend his rank against the first-time challenger, Can Rathavit." People in the audience and even the participants raised their eyebrows immediately. A first-time challenger already competing in top 10? For a new participant to go and challenge someone from the top 10 is quite rare. Typically people within the rank 20 would even hesitate to challenge those in top 10. A handful of people in the audience were able to recognize the name, but most of them do not know who Can was. The majority scrutinized him and thought that the challenger was too bold and arrogant. They also thought that the battle would most likely be quick and one-sided.

"I'll give it 30 seconds. Poor boy," the elder who was sitting next to Tin shook his head to show his pity on the new challenger.

Tin continued to ignore the elder and just focused on Can. The little beast summoner seemed to be composed as he stood on the first stone platform arena. Knowing Can's capabilities, it seemed that it would truly be a fast battle. Although this was the case, Tin was still curious how Can would defeat his opponent. Will he kill him? Will he strangle him to death? Will he cut one of his limbs? That seemed to be the only interesting part of the battle for Tin. He knew what happened between that trash and Can earlier. If it were not for Can's acquaintance interfering, he would have handled the situation himself. In any case, he will make sure that he will deal with Trump in some way later. For now, he needs to focus on Can's battle.

Speaking of Trump, he has been arrogantly looking at Can. The smirk on his face was visible. He was confident that this battle has already been decided even before he entered the platform. Even if this brat will surely lose, he will make sure to beat the sh*t out of him until he begs for mercy. Just thinking about it made his smile more sinister.

The referee on the first platform raised his right hand and swayed it forward to signal that the battle has started.

"BEGIN!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyways, I'm thinking of making a really short chapter of the text messages that Tin and Can had during the weekend. I'll think about it!
> 
> Alright guys, as always, Thank you so much for supporting this fanfiction. I truly enjoy reading and responding to your comments!


	18. Bonus Chapter: Text Messages

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey ya all! I decided to write a bonus chapter before I publish the actual next chapter on Friday or Saturday. So here ya go.

(unedited)

Can went to his bedroom that night after Tin took him home.

He took out his new clothing that was in his black pouch. It still felt surreal for him that Tin bought him such expensive items. That rich prince mentioned that these were an investment. If that was what he said, then he would believe him. He just hoped that Tin would not make him pay for them because he cannot afford any of them.

One by one, with careful and meticulous movement, he put the clothes in his cabinet. Knowing that there is limited space in his room, Can decided to just keep the rest of the items in the special pouches that were given to him by Tin. Those pouches were put in his special small cabinet that has a lock attached to it so that no one will be able to steal those pouches easily. Speaking of stealing, the little beast summoner could not get over about the fact that the rich young prince stole his first kiss. How dare him! He is saving it for someone special. For Tin to just steal it away from him so casually, who do you think you are? You only kiss someone who you love and we are not lovers!

Thinking about it, Can wondered if Tin is currently in a relationship with anyone. Suddenly the little beast summoner felt an uncomfortable sensation within his heart.

"That can't be. Knowing his cold personality, I don't think he is in a relationship right now," he reassured to himself.

With that conclusion, Can felt at ease. He sat down comfortably on top of his bed smiling without really knowing the reason why. As he grabbed his phone, a notification appeared. It was a message by Tin.

Tin: "Are you getting used to your new phone?" (sent at 10:30 p.m.)

Can: "I'm still struggling with the keyboard...." (sent at 10:34 p.m.)

Tin: "I see. You'll get used to it eventually." (sent at 10:35 p.m.)

Tin: "Goodnight." (sent at 10:35 p.m.)

Can: "WAIT WHY DID YOU KISS ME!?" *deletes*

Can: "Don't call me Cantaloupe by the way! Just Can." *deletes*

Can: "I had fun today with you." *deletes*

Can: "Goodnight to you too Tin. :)" (sent at 10:45 p.m.)

Tin: "I want to take you out again." *deletes*

Tin: "Sleep well" (sent at 10:46 p.m.)

Tin: "Good morning" (sent at 7:15 a.m.)

Tin: "What are you doing?" *deletes*

Can: "Good morning" (sent at 7:20 a.m.)

Can: "What are you doing right now?" *deletes*

While Can was thinking whether to ask Tin how he was doing, his sister came to the kitchen for breakfast. A curious look was expressed on Ley's face. She knew that her brother arrived quite late yesterday. She wanted to tease and joke around with Can about his date with Tin. Even if they are not dating, it is still fun to tease and see Can gets flustered immediately.

As Ley slowly approached him behind his back, she noticed that he seemed to be troubled.

She looked at the thing that he was holding on his hand. It was the latest and new smartphone! She knew very well that Can could not afford such phone. One thing is for sure, Tin bought it for him! It makes sense now! When Can said that they were not friends, he meant that they were actually lovers! The development of their relationship is simply remarkable. She could not believe that his brother has the capability to capture a huge and rare fish. Now she needs to know how they actually got together. Right now, she is looking for new ideas for her fanfiction. She could definitely get great ideas by asking her brother. Just thinking about it made her excited and determined. In order to make his brother talk about his relationship with Tin, she has to be cautious as to not trigger him.

"So how was your date with Tin yesterday," Ley spouted enthusiastically behind Can.

Can jumped after being frightened from the sudden voice behind his back.

"Ley? Why are you standing behind my back? And what do you mean by date?" Can asked as he calmed down.

"Sh*t I already messed up. You know what might as well ask him...." she whispered to herself.

"Didn't you go out with Tin yesterday?" she blurted.

"True, but that didn't mean that it's a date. We went out to the mall. We just looked around and had fun together. He treated me with delicious food. After that he took me home," Can said as he continued to explain to Ley how yesterday's event with Tin was not a date.

"The things that you mentioned to me, isn't it already considered a date? I mean hugging or kissing could help prove that it could be a date, but they are not necessarily required when you are starting to date someone," Ley answered.

"Ki-kiss?" Can stuttered as yesterday's memory of that kiss replayed in his mind. With Ley's explanation, the little beast summoner then just realized that it might have actually been a date. Immediately his face turned red as he gripped his phone more firmly. He decided to walk away and go back to his room in order to hide his embarrassment.

"Yes, kiss or hug is an intimate way to show affection," Ley confidently explained. With her experience with boyslove manga and fanfiction, she has a good foundation of how romance between men works. Unfortunately, the person who she was talking to was not listening and was already gone.

"Can, wait! I'm not done explaining yet!" Ley said but her brother was already upstairs.

Tin: "Good luck to you tomorrow." (sent 8:00 p.m.)

Tin: "I'll watch your performance." (sent 8:01 p.m.)

Tin: "Goodnight." (sent 8:01 p.m.)

Can: "WHAT? SERIOUSLY?" *deletes*

Can: "Yesterday, it wasn't a date right?" *deletes*

Can: "Ok, Goodnight." (sent 8:05 p.m.)

That Sunday surely became one of Can's restless days which left him more confused about his emotions towards Tin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what did you guys think? I'm thinking of writing more of this kind of bonus chapters in the future. We will see though! :) Btw I did pretty good on my mid-terms this week! To anyone who has yet to do their exams, good luck! For those who are already finished, Congrats! Alright bye!


	19. Chapter 16 - Humiliation

(unedited)

The rules are simple to win a battle. One participant must either get the other opponent to surrender or be pushed out of the stage. Of course, these are the options that none of the participants would like to get. They would like to win and would do what it takes to do so. 

Before the battle even commenced in the first stone platform, the crowd already began to focus on Can and Trump. Since a person from the top 10 is involved, everyone is excited to see the duel. Trump is very well known not only for his arrogance and wealth but for his great power too. Most of the people in the stadium believed that he would be able to beat the challenger in a quick and decisive manner. Although it might be the case, they still want to see how Trump is going to deal with this arrogant and naive challenger.

Trump knew what everyone was thinking, so his ego grew bigger. Now that everyone was looking at him, he would not disappoint at giving them a good show. He actually wanted for everyone to watch him and let it be known how powerful he had become. This past year, he has been training and working hard for this specific event. Not only did his power increased, but also his confidence and arrogance. He specifically wanted to show his two nemeses, Techno and Kengkla, his skills by defeating their pathetic friend, Can. Just thinking of the look on their faces after this battle gave him a sense of satisfaction.

  
As soon as the referee announced the start of the battle, Trump just took his time to do a sigh of mockery and plaster his evil smile.  
  
"You can surrender right now so you can save yourself from humiliation because I won't be too merciful after you refuse. If you have to guts to refuse, I'll make sure you wouldn't dare challenge me next time. Well, that's if you're still intact and alive by then," Trump said arrogantly as he looked at his opponent.

Can just calmly stood there as he focused on his opponent on the other side of the stone platform.

"I will not surrender," he said.

"Pfft. That's great then! Even if you beg for mercy, I will not show you such thing," Trump said threateningly. He wanted to make sure that he will beat him badly until he was satisfied.

"I summon the Earth Dragon King, Gopinich!"

(A/N: This is from Ragnarok online!)

Suddenly, there were vibrations in the middle of the stage that spread throughout the stadium. The weak tremors continued for some seconds until a crack was formed in the middle of the stage. This crack grew larger which resulted in an opening. . As a hole was formed due to the crack, a three-headed green dragon beast emerged. It was Trump's most powerful beast: the Gopinich.

Gopinich is a proud dragon beast that is categorized under the lower epic tier. It possesses the earth element which allows it to control the ground to defend itself and use earth elemental offensive attacks. This particular dragon is very well known for its great defenses. In addition to its strong defensive earth spells, its natural hard skin is tough to penetrate. So even though the offensive attacks of this beast are rather weak, it is compensated with its strong defenses. As long as the enemy is not above its rank, its defense is impenetrable.

The huge dragon stood in front in the middle of the stage after the hole on the stage slowly disappeared. The three heads stared down at its opponent as if looking at a pest who is ready to be squished any time. Just like its master and other dragon beasts, Gopinich is full of pride and arrogance. Anyone who is not a dragon or his current master is looked down upon.

The audience was filled with awe after seeing such a magnificent beast emerged on the stage. They rarely see epic rarity type of beasts so when they see one, they cannot help but be amazed. The only time that they would have the chance to witness them in person is during this type of events.

"Now I feel bad for the kid who went against Trump. I wonder what kind of beast he will summon," one of the audience members said to his friend who was sitting next to him.

"I just hope it's not an Ambernite," the friend answered.

 

(A/N: This is from Ragnarok online too!)

The two of them started laughing.

The two were talking about one of the weakest beasts called Ambernite. It is a snail beast that is incapable of fighting and has a fragile shell. Its only use is to eat pests.

Trump sensed the positive reaction from the audience which continued to feed his ego. Now he wondered what his opponent's expression looked like. Would he shake in fear and pee his pants? Would he faint? When he looked at Can to answer his questions, none of the scenarios that were in his mind were correct. His opponent looked rather calm. Why was he calm? Or was it because he was just hiding his true emotions? That must be it! He did not want to show that he was afraid. This truly made Trump more excited. He wanted to see his pathetic cries after he defeats him.

Can ignored Trump's gaze and evil smile. He looked at the dragon beast and able to identify all the information about it: its strengths and weaknesses. Can likes to read books and online articles regarding beasts since he was a kid. His knowledge regarding them is immense. Due to that, he was bullied. It was just a good thing that he did not stop because this knowledge will help him in his battles today and in the future.

Can took a deep breath. He raised his right hand as he looked at the sky.

Trump frowned and the audience looked with anticipation at the sudden gesture of the challenger.

"I summon the Angel of Despair, Valkyrie Randgris."

(A/N: She back.)

Just hearing the phrase, "Angel of Despair," sent shivers not only to Trump but also the audience who knew about this beast.

"Valkyrie Randgris? The one of the strongest beast in the epic tier? That kid made a contract with such beast?" one of the audience members asked who was skeptical.

Immediately, dark clouds started to gather to form a whirlpool. In the middle of it, the angel beast descended with great elegance as her black wings flapped. As her beautiful appearance became more visible while descending, the audience and Trump looked in astonishment and admiration. They could not believe that such being will be present today. A true angel that descended from heaven to earth. Yet, they did not let her alluring and innocent appearance deceive them. With the angel's lance covered with a purple flame, shining black armor, and red cape that exuded a dignified aura, only a fool would believe that she is only there to bring peace. She is the bringer of wrath and despair to her enemies hence why she is called "The Angel of Despair."

When Valkyrie Randgris finally descended on the stage in front of Gopinich, a pressure was immediately felt by her opponent and other beasts. Those beasts that are in the upper epic and above tier will exhibit a suppressing pressure to those under their ranks. The beasts that are present in the stadium could feel the pressure from Valkyrie Randgris and could not help but shake. Goponich who is her opponent was no exception since it is way weaker than her. Yet as a proud dragon, Goponich tried so hard to hide its fear as it attempted to fight the suppressing pressure from its opponent. Its master was well aware of the situation, but he did not want to admit it. Sweat on his forehead started to form as his nervousness and fear started to spread in his body. Who is this Can? How is he able to get such a beast?

Trump cannot surrender because his pride was at stake and his family was present. He had no choice but to fight. He will have to most likely use his hidden weapon he saved for Techno later in this round. With the current situation, he decided to make the first move.

_"Earth Crush!"_

The three-headed dragon roared which shook the stage. Two huge boulders emerge from the ground at each side of the angel and immediately collided with one another where the angel is in the middle of that collision.  A loud boom was heard followed by a huge smoke of dust that covered the stage. Everyone wanted to know what exactly happened after the collision. As the smoke went away, the audience jaws dropped. Valkyrie Randgris did not even move away from her position and seemed not to receive any kind of damage. Truly amazing!

Trump and his beast were starting to pale and panic. Earth Crush is one of Goponich's most powerful attacks, but it did not even scratch their opponent. Now, he has no choice but to use Goponich's ultimate attack simultaneously.

_"Earth King's Spikes!"_

The three-headed dragon opened their mouths to create solid huge spikes that were hard as steel and sharp as a knife. After forming the spikes, they were thrown towards the angel. The three heads continued to form spikes and hurl them to their opponent. As the spikes collided, none of them would hit the angel directly. They would immediately disintegrate due to the invisible barrier that was formed earlier by the angel when the dragon used Earth Crush. Only a smoke from the dust accumulated on the stage but this was actually part of Trump's plan. He knew that he could not defeat Valkyrie Randgris with his beast. So the only thing that he could do was to attack the owner directly. A smirk formed in his face as the stage was once again covered in dust which restricted the view of the audience and the referee who was outside of the stage. He summoned another one of his beasts, a poisonous worm called Argiope. Trump immediately commanded the worm to bite and inject a paralyzing poison to Can. The worm hesitantly and nervously dug underground and crawled towards Can's direction. It could feel the angel's suppressing aura, but it could not ignore its master's orders.

(A/N: This is from Ragnarok online....again...creepy!)

In this competition, there's no limit of how many beasts you could summon. The only thing that was not allowed was to kill the opponent. Of course, there was a loophole with this rule. It did not mention about crippling a person to an extent so some of the competitors will use poisonous beasts during a battle to paralyze their enemies. Paralyzing could be temporary or permanent depending on the potency of the venom. There were some reported cases where  beast summoners were paralyzed permanently. They did not die, but the paralysis made them feel and wish that they are dead. A lot of people condemned using a poisonous type of beasts, but no ban was implemented.

Fortunately, as Can became powerful so did Valkyrie Randgris. Due to this, they were able to synchronize and connect to one another better. With this kind of development, Can was able to control and unlock new abilities of Valkyrie Randgris. In addition, Can was also able to utilize the skills of his beasts after breaking through the higher level. One of the perks of being a high-level beast summoner is that they can merge with their beasts or utilize their skills for themselves if they wish to, but this only occurs to special types of beasts. Valkyrie Randgris is one of those special types of beasts.

As it reached the target, the poisonous worm emerged behind Can from the ground. When it tried to bite and inject poison, a barrier that covered Can prevented it. Earlier he used one of his angel beast's defensive spells to create a barrier around him. The moment Argiope's fangs met with the barrier, the sneaky poisonous beast flew away from the stage. The audience who were able to identify the beast that flew immediately frown. They knew what was happening.

"Trump must be in a desperate situation. For him to be this shady and use such methods," one of the audience said as he shook his head in disapproval.

"Shameless," the other audience member said.

In the midst of smoke, the three-headed dragon stopped attacking. Trump thought that Argiope was able to successfully paralyze Can, so that was the reason why Goponich stopped. He was wrong.

The reason why Goponich stopped was due to exhaustion. It also believed that it was already pointless. The power between Valkyrie Randgris and the three-headed dragon was just too wide even though they are in the same tier. Since the beginning, its opponent never moved from her position. It was quite humiliating for the dragon since it looked like she was not even taking their duel seriously.

_"Angel Wings!"_

After giving the command, the angel beast who had a poker face and seemed to be bored since the beginning just flapped her wings once which created powerful wind. It blew the dust smoke that covered the stage. Not only did the smoke was removed from the stage but also Goponich and Trump. Being unable to scratch and make their opponent move from their position even with Trump's sly plan was already humiliating enough. Being blown away from the stage by a single flap of the angel's wings was further humiliating. It was truly disgraceful. With Trump, this kind of humiliation was worse than death itself. The family members who were there to support him could not help but shook their head in embarrassment and disappointment. For him to use such underhanded method and still lose was truly a disgrace to their family.

The battle has officially ended. The referee went back to the stage and declared Can as the champion of this battle. He is now the new 8th ranked beast summoner. Everyone clapped and could still not believe what they saw. This person who defeated Trump is truly something. It made everyone intrigued especially the various families of beast summoners. They really need to watch out for him and other participants of this event. 

Everyone who mocked Can earlier was now cheering for him. The participants were now aware of one of the dark horses of this competition. They will surely avoid fighting him from now on. Those who covet the 8th place will have to think really hard if they want to fight Can.

Speaking of Can, after being declared as the winner, he suddenly became aware of the attention that he was getting from everyone. He felt embarrassed and started to blush. He was not used to the attention that he was getting right now, so he looked down on the ground which prevented him to see the person who has been proudly and happily staring at him. Can thanked Valkyrie Randgris before she went back to her dimension. As Can went down from the stage, an arm around his neck grabbed him then another hand started messing his hair. It was Techno and Kengkla. They fought and won earlier at defending their ranking from various challengers. After that, they went straight by the first stone platform and watched Can's battle. They knew that he was going to win, so they were happy. The two of them were much happier because they witnessed what happened to Trump. He was obliterated completely by Can. Trump might not be able to show himself throughout the entire competition. That was a great thing. They did not want to deal with an annoying person during the entire event.

While the three friends were happily talking about Can's first win, Tin was already gone from his seat. The elder who was sitting next to him did not even notice that he was gone since he was too absorbed in the battle. When he realized that Tin was gone, the ice prince was already waiting at the rest area  by the stadium where beast summoners could take a break after their battles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey ya all...sorry for the delay...I was watching movies with some friends today. I watched Hidden Figures, The Incredibles 2, and The Greatest Showman. They were great especially Hidden Figures. Actresses were very good and inspirational.
> 
>  
> 
> Anyways ya all I got great responses about the bonus chapter so i'd most likely do it more often now. Tehee!
> 
> Alright! Again, as always, I would like to thank you guys for supporting this fanfiction. I truly appreciate that you guys like it and it motivates me to keep writing even though I am not that awesome at writing correctly! I'm trying to improve XD I don't know if you are witnessing it though. Oh well that's it for now! BYE!!!


	20. Chapter 17 - New Enemies

(unedited)

"I told you Can that you can do it!" Techno gleefully said while his right arm is still around Can's neck.

Can returned a huge bright smile revealing his white front teeth that could compete with the sun for their brightness. He was just truly happy about winning for the first time in a competition. If this was going to be the case, he should have joined sooner so he could have gotten the benefits of being in the top 100 earlier.

Kengkla patted Can's head while revealing an accomplished look. He was happy that Can won, but he was way happier about Can's development throughout his journey for this competition. Before, he would have a lot of doubts about himself, but now, he seemed to have more confidence in himself. He hoped that this continues.

As the three friends walked toward the rest area that offered multiple benches, someone with a slightly displeased look was observing the three. In the rest area, only the participants and their close family members or friends could go. Tin is neither exactly a family member nor a friend to Can. He was in a different category which gave him an exception to be in the rest area. Even if he was not allowed to be in that area, no one would dare stop and kick him out if he wanted to go. Who in the right mind would dare offend Tin just for a resting area? Everyone who saw Tin waiting was quite surprised and curious. Who was Tin waiting for in the rest area? Is it a friend or better yet, a girlfriend? Of course, no one knew that Tin was waiting for Can who just owes his entire life to him. What they will learn later will shock all of them.

"Since you won your first battle, I will treat you to lunch anywhere you want as long as I could afford it," Techno said braggingly while pointing at the bench where the three could sit. Even though Techno is from a rich family just like Kengkla, his parents only give him a small allowance every month. They want Techno to learn how to work hard and adapt to poor conditions. Although this was the case, he would spend his money on his friends because he likes them. Can is number one on his list who he spends his most money on. Techno is truly a good-natured person and not stingy which is why Kengkla likes to stick around with him.

Sometimes being too nice can bring danger. The ice prince has been looking at Techno in displeasure for some time now for sitting too close to Can, yet Techno was oblivious about Tin's cold gaze.

After hearing the sentence from Techno, Tin decided to approach the three and take Can away from the two. Kengkla, who was standing and facing the direction of where Tin is coming from, immediately felt the cold gaze from him. He knew that Tin must be looking for Can. The reason he knew this was because Can would always ask for Tin's location on campus before. He would also just talk about him when the three of them would eat lunch. Judging by the looks of it, Tin seemed unhappy about something. Kengkla looked at Tin and then looked back at Techno whose arm was still around Can's neck while the two were still laughing on the bench. Then it clicked in his mind. He immediately understood the situation.

Kengkla grabbed Techno all of a sudden and pulled him away from Can.

"We just remembered that we had something to do Can, we will see you later," Kengkla said as he acted like he was in a hurry.

"Kengkla, what are-wait! Don't pull me that hard. My shirt will get crumpled," Techno said as he tried to struggle to break free from Kengkla, but he failed.

Kengkla looked directly at Tin as if trying to communicate something with him. He quickly gave him a nod and left the rest area with Techno. Tin, who was behind Can, realized what the little beast summoner's acquaintance did. It seemed that he knew that he was aiming for Can. That is great then because no one would disturb them.

"I will see you later then," Can said while still thinking what his two friends were going to do.

He was suddenly caught by surprise when a hand grabbed his right shoulder. When he looked back, he saw the person who he has been trying to find since this morning.

"Tin, when did you get here?" Can asked as his heart started beating faster while looking up at Tin.

"Not too long," Tin said as his face that expressed chilling and displeased look earlier was replaced with a small genuine smile.

"Congratulations on your first win," Tin continued.

Can who was absorbed by Tin's small smile and words immediately made him feel embarrassed. 

"Thanks," Can said in return as he looked down on the ground. He does not know what to say to him afterward, but he was actually delighted that Tin actually went to see him compete.

"Are you okay? You seem tired. Were you able to sleep properly last night?" Tin asked worriedly.

Immediately Can remembered why he was unable to sleep last night. It was Tin's fault to begin with! It started because of that stolen kiss. What to do?

"I just got a little too excited about this event, but I'm fine," Can said as he made up an excuse still hesitant to look at Tin's face.

"I see. Come with me and eat lunch," Tin said as he grabbed the little beast summoner's wrist without any hesitation. He wanted to take this opportunity to be with Can alone.

"Where? I don't have much money with me," Can said as he immediately forgot what was in his mind when he heard the word lunch.

"My treat," Tin answered while still holding Can's wrist. He pulled him away from his seat and dragged him outside of the rest area. Can could only obey Tin. Even though he does not like being indebted to him, he already learned that he could not say 'no' to him. Besides Tin is one of the richest men in the world. Can does not think that treating him for some food would affect Tin's seemingly infinite money in any way. Where does he get this money anyway?

When they left the rest area and the stadium, different media personnel and individuals have already been gossiping and recording the two of them. Seeing the heir of E.A. with the new popular participant together was truly intriguing. What is their relationship with one another? Yet, even if the two are quite intriguing, none of these spectators were able to interview or talk to them. They were scared of offending Tin. Since this was the case, the spectators could only talk to themselves and media personnel could only record them from afar.

This was actually part of Tin's plan. He wanted to show the world that Can is only his and that no one can take him away from him. If someone dares harm Can, that person will have to deal with him. Meanwhile, Can was not aware of Tin's plan and the people who were looking at the two of them. He was busy guessing what kind of food that they are going to eat.

Yet aside from curious spectators, there were people who were there to cause harm.

"Hmm, are you sure it's him?" said by an old man who is holding a white fan that was embroidered with a dragon snake on it. The old man's dignified look immediately change into a threatening and menacing one as he directed his attention to Can and Tin. He gripped his rather expensive and antique fan to the point where it was about to break.

"According to our investigation, during that day where our team was pursuing Mr. Phiravich, witnesses saw huge dark clouds that formed a whirlpool next to the university where our team was found dead. It must be him. He most likely helped our target get away," the old man's young subordinate with glasses said.

"We will further continue our surveillance on Mr. Rathavit and report to you as soon as possible," he continued as he moved his glasses that he was wearing.

"If they think they can get away unscathed, they are wrong. We will get our revenge for our fallen clan members," the old man said as he walked away with a heavy heart and anger. His young subordinate followed him in silence.

After leaving the campus, Tin drove Can to a quite luxurious restaurant. At first, Can thought that it was an ordinary restaurant due to its non-flashy appearance unlike the time they went to Heaven's Gold mall. He was wrong.

When they went in, it was a completely different look. The server who was going to serve them was wearing a black tuxedo. The people who were there eating lunch looked high-class. Of course, this rich prince would take them to a luxury restaurant. Why did he think they would go to a normal restaurant. Once again, Can felt out of place since he was wearing plain clothes.

The handsome and elegant male waiter greeted Tin and Can with utmost respect. Tin nodded and the waiter immediately directed them to a private room.

The moment they entered the private room, Can was amazed. This room looks way classier and luxurious. He felt a little intimidated because of the different utensils that were on the table. He does not know proper etiquette when it comes to fine dining.

"Sit down," Tin said as he sat down.

Can nodded and sat to the opposite side of the table facing Tin. When the menu was given to the both of them, Tin refused to take the menu since he is the owner of the restaurant and he knew everything that was on it.

"I'll get the usual with the other fruit that I requested," Tin said while focusing his gaze at Can.

Can was looking at the menu and had no idea what to order. Aside from the expensive and hard-to-pronounce names of the dishes that were offered, they all seemed tasty. He cannot help it but look at Tin to ask for some assistance. Tin looked at this little fellow's gaze and shook his head. Can looked like an abandoned pup and it made Tin smile in delight.

"He will take the same thing as mine but without the fruit," Tin requested to the waiter while still looking at Can who seemed to be trying to figure out how to use the utensils around him.

The waiter took the menu from Can and immediately left the two of them alone.

"You can eat in whatever way you want, you don't have to know proper etiquette," Tin reassured. 

Can immediately nodded since he was about to give up anyways. He does not know how rich people have these different utensils and plates for eating. All you just really need were a simple fork, spoon, and a plate.

"You didn't have to take me to this expensive restaurant. A simple cheap food would've been fine," Can explained.

"You seemed to be drooling at the menu earlier though," Tin smirked.

Can wiped his mouth to see if he actually drooled. There was no drool.

"No, I didn't," Can said as he frowned.

Tin just chuckled. He was just kidding.

"Why aren't you wearing the clothes that I bought for you?" Tin said as he changed the topic while waiting for the food.

"I don't want them to get dirty...." Can answered. In reality, he did not really want to wear such expensive clothes in the competition because it grabs too much attention. Although this was the case, after the battle with Trump, he realized that people still paid attention to him anyway.

"Those clothes are not meant for display. They will help increase your defense and other bonus capabilities. You should know this," Tin said.

"I-I know. It's just that when I wear them, I don't know how I will explain it to my family or friends," Can said nervously. It was his sister's fault. If she did not spout nonsense about him and Tin, he would not be this bothered about wearing the clothes that Tin bought for him.

"Just tell them they are a gift from me," Tin nonchalantly said.

"That's easy for you to say that," Can mumbled to himself.

"I want you to start wearing them tomorrow or else...," Tin looked at Can directly into his eyes in a serious tone.

"Or else what?" Can gulped.

"I'll strip you down and change your clothes, but this time you are conscious. I could give you a bath too, if you want," Tin said without any hesitation.

"Eeh! I'll wear them! I'll wear them!" Can immediately responded. He just remembered that Tin was the one who gave him a bath while he was unconscious. Even if he was not aware of what happened during that time, he still felt quite embarrassed.

Tin could remember vividly Can's naked body last time. If he realized sooner that he wanted Can, he might have done something more than giving him a bath.

"Good," Tin said as he nodded.

After some time, the server came in with the food that was ordered. There were two plates of Pasta with Lamb Ragù, Island Duck with Mulberry Mustard, and two glasses of water placed on their table.

"Enjoy," the server said as he left the room.

Can looked at the dishes and was amazed by the smell and presentation. They look really fancy and delicious! Tin, on the other hand, thought that the food was just simple. He actually preferred Can's cooking more than this.

Can grabbed a fork and a cutlery knife. He first grabbed the Island Duck with Mulberry Mustard and clumsily cut the meat. When he took the first bite of the duck meat, he felt that he was in heaven. It was truly flavorful and tasty! As he continued eating in a very unclassy manner, Tin was just observing him. He was glad that Can liked the food. He might bring him into this restaurant as frequent as possible if Can really liked it.

"Tin, the food here is really delicious. I wonder who is the chef?" Can asked while still chewing the food in his mouth.

"I could call him right now if you want," Tin said as he started cutting the duck meat on his plate properly.

"Huh? That would be a bother, the chef is surely busy," Can answered.

"He would not mind since I am the owner of this place," Tin casually answered as he took a bite of his food.

Can almost choked when he heard the word 'owner' from Tin's mouth. Does he seriously own this place? Now he wondered what other places does this guy own.

Tin saw the little beast summoner's surprised reaction and only gave him a nod as a response. Ordinary people who knew about the existence of E.A. should also know that it owns a lot of businesses locally and internationally. This restaurant is one of them.

After Tin nod, Can went back to eating. He should not be surprised anymore if Tin owns this country or the world.

While he was eating, he saw Tin leaning towards him with his right hand approaching his face. He froze in place as he looked at Tin's movements.

Tin saw that there was a small smudge from the mulberry mustard sauce next to his lips and so he took this opportunity to touch Can's face. With his thumb, Tin wiped the mustard next to his lips. He then went back to his seat. Instead of wiping off the mustard from his hand with a handkerchief, he licked it in a quite seductive way. Whether it was deliberate or not, Can could not help it but blush.

"You should've just told me I have something on my face," Can said as he avoided Tin's gaze.

"Cantaloupe," Tin said as he held a piece of cantaloupe.

Can immediately looked at him. He thought that Tin was making fun of him, but he was just talking about a piece cantaloupe. He just resumed eating the pasta.

Tin took a small bite of the fruit and said that "Cantaloupe is so sweet."

Can once again froze as he looked at Tin.

Tin continued describing as he took another bite of the fruit. "Cantaloupe is so soft and delicious," he said as he continued to tease Can. (A/N: Do you guys know where I got this? XD)

"Tin, could you please just eat," Can said as he tried to ignore Tin's words about cantaloupe even though he might just be referring to the actual fruit and not him. Tin just smirked. He likes teasing Can so much. 

After the two ate, they went back to Tin's car and drove back to the campus. When they were in the car, Can has been thinking about how he should repay Tin in some other way. He knew that he did not want money for sure.

He does not know what to give him, so he decided to ask Tin himself.

"Tin, I want to repay you in some way for the things you have done for me. I hate being indebted. Is there anything you would like me to do?" Can asked.

"There is," Tin immediately answered.

"Cook for me at my home," he continued.

"Ohh that's no problem with me at all but don't you have a chef at home?" Can curiously asked.

"I don't like the food the chef makes, I like yours better," he said.

There was an inexplicable happiness within Can. He still cannot believe that Tin actually finished the ham and cheese hot pockets he prepared when he had breakfast at his place. If Tin wants his food, then he will cook for him. It is no big deal.

"Alright, just tell me when so I can prepare the ingredients," Can excitedly replied.

"Ok," Tin said.

Meanwhile, in the blue portable gazebo where participants could issue challenges, a mysterious woman appeared wearing high-quality gears with hidden defensive capabilities: a cap, a black face mask, a red cape embroidered with floral designs that covered her entire body. Everyone surrounding her could feel the pressure that she exudes. They could tell that she is not an ordinary beast summoner. She was truly an attention grabber, not only due to her sense of fashion but also her promising and threatening power. No one knew who she was, but they knew they should not belittle her. This competition is truly becoming fiercer. Everyone who has participated in this particular event from previous years should be cautious of the new participants!

The mysterious woman ignored the chattering of the people around her and logged into the computer. She immediately looked specifically at the people of the top 10.

"Can Rathavit." 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I wrote more than 3k words for this chapter XD Pretty long. Anyways, I was thinking if I should write a bonus chapter about Ae/Pete or Kengkla/Techno? Whaddya guys think? Who do you prefer? Or should I just stick with TinCan?
> 
> If you want to know where I found pictures of the food. It is here: https://www.foodandwine.com/articles/10-best-restaurant-dishes-of-2010
> 
> Welp! That's it for now. Again, Thank you guys for reading this fanfiction!


	21. Chapter 18 - A Losing Battle

(unedited)

As Tin and Can arrived into the coliseum, two familiar people saw the two of them.

"Tin! Can! I've been looking for the two of you," Pete said happily as he saw that Tin and Can were together.

It has been a while since Pete saw the pair in person. After hearing the headlines about the two on social media today, he wanted to see the two of them immediately but Tin dragged Can somewhere so he had to wait for them to come back. He had a hunch about their relationship, but he did not know that they already developed that fast already. When he would text Tin about his well-being these past few days, he did not mention anything about Can. He just learned about the two just today through social media! How can Tin hide his love life from his childhood friend! It is unfair! When Pete and Ae just became a couple, the first person to know their relationship was Tin. Even though Pete knew that Tin did not like Ae, he still told him about his relationship because he is his important childhood friend. Although Pete was being petty about it, he was still happy that Tin found someone whom he liked. Can is a really good and caring person just like Ae. He hoped the two would stay like this.

Speaking of Ae, the heir of B.S.G has been silent since he read the headlines about Tin and Can being together. He did not know if he should be happy about it. For him, Can is like a family and a brother to him. He does not want him to get hurt. In his experience interacting with Tin, this ice prince was a selfish and cold-hearted bastard. Ae does not really like his personality at all, but after seeing that the two were happily chatting to one another as they entered the coliseum, Tin might actually have changed for the better. Did he really change or was he scheming something?

"Oh, Ae! Pete! How are you!?" Can immediately approached the two the moment he saw them. When Tin saw Can rushed towards the two, he immediately clicked his tongue in annoyance as he walked behind Can. These pests.

"We're good! I saw your first match today. You did great," Ae praised Can as he messed up Can's hair briefly.

"Stop it, Ae!" Can said as he joked around with Ae while trying to stop him from messing his hair. Ae stopped afterwards.

"Congratulations, Can. You did really well," Pete said as he chuckled.

"Thank you!" Can quickly blushed. He was quite happy to see his other close friends. It has been a while since he saw them because he was busy training for the competition these past few weeks.

"By the way," Pete quickly grabbed his brown leather shoulder bag. He opened it and took out a blue potion. It was a spiritual energy recovery potion.

He then handed it to Can and said "Here."

"This should help replenish your spiritual energy," Pete explained.

Can took the potion from Pete and looked at it. It was a high-grade potion.

He hesitated and gave it back to Pete. He cannot take it since it an expensive potion. Besides, he already recovered all of his spiritual energy. Since his battle with Trump only used 3% of his spiritual energy, he was able to recover completely. Even if he used 50% of his spiritual energy, he could easily recover them. After becoming a high-level beast summoner, his spiritual energy capacity and recovery speed have increased incredibly and abnormally.

"I'm okay Pete. I've already recovered all my spiritual energy. Thank you though," Can said as he refused Pete's offer.

Pete tried to persuade Can to take the potion. "Well, I made this specifically for you though. You can use it when you need it. Consider it as a celebratory gift for winning."

"But...this is high-quality grade potion? It is expensive to produce," Can continued.

"It's no problem at all. I have plenty. Don't worry about it," Pete said as he kept his enthusiastic smile.

"Come on Can, Pete really worked hard on this potion just for you. He would sulk if you refuse, so just accept it." Ae looked at Pete with admiration. The two of them have spent a lot of time in Pete's wooden cabin to brew potions and to do some other....stuff.

Can looked at Pete who was nodding. He has no choice but to accept Pete's gift. Pete is really nice. Ae is a truly lucky person to be able to find an angel like Pete.

As Can took the potion and put it in the small backpack that he brought, he became curious about Ae's match.

"Do you have a match today?" Can asked Ae.

"No one has issued a match yet, so I'm just watching other people's matches with Pete," Ae explained. None of the competitors has the guts to taste the terrifying power of Ae's completed Seven Deadly Sins Beasts.

"How about you Can, did someone issue a match against you?" Ae asked.

"Hmm..." Can took out his new phone which caught Pete and Ae by surprise. How can he have such an expensive new phone? All of a sudden, both of them thought of Tin. The two of them looked at each other then at Tin. The main culprit avoided the stares that he was getting from the annoying couple and just smirked.

"I have one match.............RIGHT NOW!" Can panicked after checking his notifications from his phone.

"Go," Tin said as he touched Can's back gently.

Can looked at Tin and nodded.

"Thank you, everyone. Wish me luck!" Can said as he rushed towards the first platform where he was once again assigned for a match. 

The three who were left eventually decided to seat together after Pete insisted Tin to seat with them to watch Can's upcoming match.

As Can approached the first stage, the crowd was once again bustling with enthusiasm and excitement. After Can's first match, other people's matches were a little boring. Although some were amazing, they were not as great as Can's first battle. Now that someone has decided to challenge him then that person must not be ordinary. This match must be another mouth-dropping battle.

When Can finally arrived on the stone platform, his opponent was already looking at him in contempt.

"I thought you got scared and ran away," the mysterious lady said mockingly while her arms were crossed.

"Why would I run away? Also, I don't even know you," Can retorted. This lady covered in a face mask and fancy clothing is rude. When Can saw his notification earlier about his opponent, he had no idea who she was.

"I'll make sure you'll remember me," she said as she smirked although her expression was hidden due to her black face mask.

Seeing that the two competitors are on the first stage, the commentator immediately announced their names, "We will now begin the duel between our new Rank 8th, Can Rathavit and a new challenger, Pineare Pannin."

(A/N:  I was looking for the name of the girl in one of the episodes of LBC where she asked for a ride with Tin then Tin refused her. She is the opponent of Can in this chapter. I looked at MyDramaList and this is the only person who seemed to match that description. If I'm wrong please tell me! I wasn't focusing on the female characters, so I'm not really sure. )

The referee shouted begin then left the stage.

As soon as the referee left the stage, Can decided to make the first move. He summoned Valkyrie and formed a small defensive barrier for both of them. When Valkyrie showed up, everyone in the audience could not get enough of the beautiful and magnificent angel beast as they started taking pictures and videos of her. She became an instant celebrity for many.

"Pfft, so what if you have her? She's not that special," Pineare sneered.

She took a deep breath and raised two of her hands. Both of her palms started emitting dark lights. These two dark lights started to expand and created two rifts that looked like black holes. From those holes, dark purple aura started to come out. Immediately, a suppression aura was felt by summoned beasts below the Epic Rarity. Two intense huge red dots from two holes can be seen. Those were eyes staring at Can.

"I summon The Dark Master of Endless Towers, Naght Sieger and The Dark Guardian, Entweihen Crothen!" 

 

(This is Naght Sieger from Ragnarok Online.)

(This is Entweihen Crothen, also from R.O. Not as scary as Naght Sieger. )

The two beings slowly came out from the two black holes. Fear and shivering feelings were sent to the spectators as the appearance of the two demonic skeletal beings became more apparent.

Naght Sieger and Entweihen Crothen are both Epic Rarity Demon type beasts. Although both of them are not as special as Valkyrie, they are both found in the middle part of the Epic tier which is still quite impressive. When both of their powers are combined, they are on a par with Can's angel beast. Naght Sieger specializes in offensive shadow attacks while Entweihen Crothen specializes at stunning or trapping her enemies. Coordinating both of their movements and actions is key in order to give them a higher chance of successfully defeating their opponents who might be more powerful than them. In Can's case, since Valkyrie is against two demon beasts with great harmony of powers, he is in a disadvantage already.

"If you have an angel by your side, I have two demons on mine," Pineare arrogantly announced.

Without waiting for Can's reply, she immediately coordinated an attack towards Can's angel beast.

_"Shadow Slash!"_

Naght Sieger teleported behind Valkyrie and raised both of his two deadly swords. As he was about to slash Valkyrie, the angel beast detected his movements and flew away above him. 

"Don't think you can escape that easily," Pineare cautioned.

_"Evil Thorns!"_

Entweihen Crothen touched the ground with her skeletal hands; Huge black spiky thorns emerged on the stage. These thorns quickly pursued the angel to immobilize her. As Valkyrie tried to escape from the pursuing thorns, Naght Sieger caught up with her and started attacking once again. Quick blows from the swords and spear could be seen. The exchange of attacks between the two was fast and decisive. It kept everyone tightly on their seats as they focused their attention on the two beasts. Eventually, the two had to break up their fight since Valkyrie tried to fly away once again to escape the still-growing thorns that are slowly covering the entire stage. This was Pineare's plan. She wanted Can to get distracted while she was trying to slowly cover the stage with thorns to allow her to trap both the Valkyrie and Can faster.

Can was able to figure out what she was planning. He commanded Valkyrie to retreat next to his side and form a stronger and bigger defensive barrier.

_"Holy Dome!"_

After Valkyrie swiftly retreated next to Can, she struck the ground with her enchanted left hand and formed a defensive holy barrier around her. Her wings expanded and covered Can with them for increased protection. Even though Valkyrie is an offensive type of beast, she still has powerful defensive spells. Can was thinking of using the method he used against Trump where he waited for Gopanich to become exhausted, but it seems it was going to be useless this time. He was stuck.

"Already hiding? You're no fun!" Pineare smiled evilly.

"If you think this defensive barrier will save you, you're wrong!" she continued.

_"Demons' Bombardment!"_

Both Naght Sieger and Entweihen Crothen dashed forward and attacked the defensive dome. Naght Sieger continuously hit one particular side of the dome simultaneously like a madman while laughing. As seconds passed by, his attacks became faster. With the help of Enweihen Crothen, the attacks became more powerful and vicious. Small cracks on that particular side of the dome started to show. Fortunately, Valkyrie has the capability to repair the defensive holy dome barrier, but this can become a problem. The primary weaknesses of the Valkyrie's holy dome are the amount of energy it takes to maintain and repair the barrier when it is damaged and also a concentrated attack on an area of the dome. As the dome gets more damaged, Can has to release more spiritual energy.

Since Can has fast spiritual energy recovery speed compared to most beast summoners, he might actually have a chance to win by staying within the defensive dome while trying to exhaust the spiritual energy of the enemy. Of course, Pineare knew his plan. After issuing a challenge against Can, she quickly did a background check with the help of her family's connection. She concluded that Can is not the type of person to attack since he does not like hurting beasts! He is known for his obsession and love for beasts on campus. She was able to prove this when she witnessed the battle he had with Trump earlier. His battle plan is to exhaust his opponents and then remove them from the stage with minimal strength as much as possible.  Truly kind-hearted but weak! 

Knowing Can will not attack any time soon, Pineare decided to summon another beast to finish him and Valkyrie off.

"Ice Titan, Ktullanux!"

(A/N:This is Ktullanux from R.O)

With an additional opponent on the stage, Can is now facing a losing battle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm already working on the next chapter. I'll release it tomorrow. 
> 
> Anyways, help me out here guys. I am trying to find out the name of the girl in that one scene where she asked for a ride with Tin but the Tin shoved her. Was it this girl? Her name is Pineare Pannin Charnmanoon. I'm not really sure if it is her.....Again, I was ignoring the female characters on LBC so help me out XD.
> 
> Again, I was ignoring the female characters on LBC so help me out XD  
> Anyways, THANK YOU!!!! :)


	22. Chapter 19 - Taste of Blood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, here's the next chapter.

(unedited)

 

Ktullanux is an ice elemental beast that is under the lower hierarchy of the Epic tier. Since Valkyrie is a mixture of holy and fire elements, she is weak against ice elemental attacks. So even though Ktullanux is not that strong, it could still cause a potent damage against Valkyrie which is why Pannin decided to summon the Ice Titan. Immediately after summoning Ktullanux, Pannin commanded it to use its most powerful attack.

_"Ice Beam!"_

When Ktullanux opened its mouth, its surrounding small area froze. It then started to screech loudly that the entire audience of the coliseum could hear it. They hated its annoying loud voice. After the Ice Titan's screech, a light-blue orb light was formed inside its mouth that then released a continuous stream of strong beam towards the defensive dome. Now with the combined power of three summoned beasts, the rate of speed of the cracks appearing was now faster than the rate of speed of repairing the defensive dome. Soon, the cracks have become bigger; Can could not keep up anymore.

_"Finishing Blow"_

With his two deadly swords, Naght Sieger leaned forward as he lunged with great power which caused the defensive dome of Valkyrie to shatter into pieces.

As soon as the dome was destroyed, the Valkyrie has no choice but to fight. It would be a three-against-one battle. By the looks of it, Can was losing.

Valkyrie valiantly flew forward to fight her enemies. But being outnumbered and overpowered, she was slowly losing the fight as she weakens. While Valkyrie was getting distracted as she attacks and defends against three beasts, Pannin was already rushing towards Can. With the help of her red cape, she used its ability which is invisibility to sneak behind Can.

_"Magic Crush!"_

Pannin's magic spell destroyed the already small weak defensive barrier that covered Can. After Can's last defense barrier was destroyed, Pannin punched him in the face. Can was unable to react quickly, so he was met with a painful punch. Immediately, Can fell on the ground. His left cheek was red; His mouth started to bleed.

The entire audience was shocked. It seemed that there would be a new rank 8th sooner. The people who were shocked the most were those who were close to Can. Ae and Pete could not believe what was happening. They could see their friend getting hurt, but they could not do anything. It hurts just looking at him. For Tin who was the most affected, he was filled with anger, sadness, pain, and powerlessness. The only thing that he could do is just to believe in Can. He curled his fingers to form a fist as it shook in anger. Anyone who hurts Can would not be left unscathed. He would remember her and make her pay for what she did.

On the battlefield, Pannin observed the little beast summoner who was on the ground in front of her.

"So this is the kind of person he chose?" Pannin mocked.

Can tried to stand up but he was kicked in the stomach by his opponent that caused him to fall once more on the ground. While lying on his stomach, he started to groan in pain as he wheezed. 

"You're pretty weak. You don't deserve him," she continued as she stepped on Can's back firmly with her red high heels.

"What ar- are you talking about?" Can asked as he bit his lips while enduring the pain.

"Don't act innocent! YIELD!" Pannin shouted as she once again kicked Can in the stomach. Can vomitted blood as he held his stomach with both of his hands.

"I'm not....yielding..." Can whispered.

"You stubborn sh*t! What did Tin see in you huh!? You're just a weak and pathetic piece of sh*t!" she spouted as she kicked Can simultaneously. Can tried his best to block Pannin's attacks with his arms while trying to form a new defensive barrier. Unfortunately, his opponent was too fast. She would continuously kick him so Can would not have time to form a spell.

"I'm the one who should be by his side and not you! I've known him since we were kids! I DESERVE TO BE WITH HIM!" she said as her eyes started to turn red from anger.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Can weakly said as he wiped the blood that was flowing from his mouth. She seemed to be talking about Tin. Why is she blaming him? He did not do anything!

"Well I'll give you a quick background story since we have plenty of time and you're really stubborn," she said as her attitude change with a fake friendlier tone while maintaining the menacing look on her face.

Pannin was confident that Can would not be able to fight back anymore. As her three summoned beasts are now overwhelming Valkyrie, she can be at ease that she will win the battle.

She pulled Can's hair while she was on her knees.

"After this, you have to give up on him!" she demanded as she removed the face mask from her face.

As her face was revealed, Pete was able to recognize her face. At first, when the announcer mentioned her name, it sounded a little familiar. Now seeing that she revealed her face, Pete knew who she was!

"You know her?" Ae asked when he saw Pete's surprised reaction after Can's opponent revealed her face.

"She was umm a die-hard fan of Tin since elementary. We were not friends though," he explained.

Pete looked at Tin, but it seemed he was not paying attention. He was just focusing on Can on stage while still being angry.

"She would only observe us from afar during elementary school and did not approach us. Everyone in my school just thought of her as creepy. After graduating from elementary, she followed us from middle school to high school. Her obsession got progressively worse in high school. She would stalk Tin everywhere and send him things every day. Tin, of course, disregarded her. I had to personally report her to our high school principal. She was then transferred to another school. That was the end of it. I can't believe she was also attending this university," he worriedly said.

"Is her obsession with him the reason why she challenged Can?" Ae asked.

"It could be the reason," Pete nodded.

Meanwhile, Tin was actually listening to Pete and Ae's conversation. He personally knew about this obsessive stalker back in high school, but he did not pay attention to her. He did not think that this b*tch would personally come to cause trouble for him and Can.

On the battlefield, Pannin's explanation was quite different from what Pete said about her."We were supposed to be together, but since our status was quite different before, we couldn't be together. Now that I'm equal to him, nothing will stop the both of us from loving one another. I'm just giving him a huge favor by getting rid of you," Pannin said as she grinned.

Can who was in pain was starting to contemplate what she said. First of all, what did he do? Why is he involved with their so-called forbidden love? She should confront Tin instead of him! He is more of Tin's servant for life instead of a love rival. That ice prince always does not fail to surprise him when it comes to his life. Yet, even if their unfortunate love life has nothing to do with Can, he felt uncomfortable and pain in his heart. Tin you bastard! This is all your fault!

As he thought about Tin while struggling from Pannin's grasp on his hair, he immediately spotted him from the audience. Instead of feeling pain, he was filled with anger instead. He cursed at Tin for bringing him a troublesome woman! Tin, you bastard! You have to explain everything to me after I win this competition! I'll show you I should not be messed with!

Tin noticed that Can was glaring at him. He was pouting as he frowned. It seemed that he was not even paying attention that there was an opponent grabbing his soft hair and about to defeat him. For some reason, Tin could sense what Can was thinking and could not help, but feel a sigh of relief. It seemed that Can was determined to win. He started to give Can a smirk. Still, he did not like the feeling of Can being hurt by that b*tch due to some petty reason.

Pannin noticed that Can was looking at a certain direction. When she looked up, she saw Tin has a smirk on his face. What is with that reaction? Why is he smiling? Is he smiling for this weakling? He is about to lose though?

"No! No! No! This is not happening," Pannin said as her voice became shaky and louder. She has to finish the battle and eliminate Can as soon as possible!

Since Can has not yielded yet, she will use this opportunity to inject a deadly poison into him. In one of her pockets, she took out a needle that was smeared with poison. Since she was covered by her red cape, no one could see what she was doing. Can, on the other hand, used this opportunity of Pannin's sudden distraction to escape and call another beast.

 

_"Holy Ghost Form!"_

Can put both of his hands together as if praying and turned invisible. With this kind of invisibility, he was able to go through things without any problem, so he was able to escape Pannin's grasp. Although he was still in pain all over his body, he was able to run and create some distance between him and his opponent. This move made Pannin angrier. After Can's holy ghost form wore off, she immediately pursued him. She was already able to close the gap between Can and him but it was enough momentum for Can to do another spell.

_"Emergency Summoning!"_

Usually, when a beast summoner calls a contracted beast, it takes some time to summon it. When a beast summoner used Emergency Summoning spell, a particular contracted beast from the other dimension will be immediately summoned on the spot. This, of course, cost more spiritual energy. In order to use this particular spell, the beast summoner has to think which beast he wants to summon immediately. Since this is Can's first time using the spell and was in a desperate situation, he was unable to confirm which beast he was going to summon. Pannin immediately stopped her planned offensive attack and jumped back to create distance between the two of them. She did not know what kind of powerful beast Can will summon. She needed to be cautious and be far away from him just in case.

After Can used the Emergency Summoning spell, a small white orb was created in front of him.The audience was excited to see what kind of powerful beast Can would summon that would hopefully change the state of the battle. Valkyrie was able to defend herself successfully up to this point, but she was still in a disadvantage. If Can really wants to win, he has to summon another beast to help her out. His battle plan of exhausting the enemies was not an option anymore. He needs to fight.

The white orb in front of him started to expand quickly. The bright white light that the orb was releasing was blinding which caused not only Pannin to cover her eyes but also everyone in the coliseum.

After a few seconds, the bright white light went away. When Pannin and the audience saw Can's supposedly powerful beast, their mouth quickly dropped in shock.

Ae and Pete saw the new beast that Can summoned.

"Is-isn't that Gucci?" Pete asked. Did Can really summon Gucci on purpose? This is part of his plan right?

"Kyuuuu!"

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have nothing much to say really. I would just like to thank everyone for being patient about the weekly updates. Yeah, that's it really! Well I'll see you next week!


	23. Chapter 20 - Unlikely Hero

(unedited)

"PFFFT! PUHAHAHA," Pannin laughed hysterically after seeing that Can only summoned a slime beast that does not even fight! This is just too good! Her luck is really good! She did not expect that her opponent would make such a grave mistake at this very moment.

 Everyone in the audience thought that Can made a huge mistake at summoning this kind of beast. Gucci is a collector type of beast which means that his main function is to mostly collect various items or materials of different rarities. This kind of beast does not have the capability to fight or defend itself from harm. So when Can summoned Gucci, everyone considered it as a bad move.

The little beast summoner knew what everyone was thinking. He also knew that he made a mistake when he summoned Gucci. It was not his intention to summon him to begin with, so when he saw his contracted red jelly-like beast appear, his face paled. He could only use Emergency Summoning once a day. If he tried to summon another beast, it would take him some time to do so. He does not think that Pannin would allow him to summon.

Gucci, on the other hand, was immediately mesmerized by the place that he was in after he appeared in front of his master. A lot of people were staring at him with a questioning and unbelievable gaze. Suddenly getting a little embarrassed and excited from the attention that he was getting, he turned around to look at his master. When he saw that Can looked beaten up and has this surprised look on his face, he realized the reason why he was summoned. He turned around once more and saw the situation on the battlefield. One of his master's contracted beast, Valkyrie Randgris, was fighting three opponents. By the looks of it, she was about to lose. Gucci then faced his master's opponent on the opposite side of the stage who was laughing about something. What is so funny?

Since Can summoned Gucci in such a crucial moment, it made the red gelatinous beast feel that he was quite important. Of course, this is a huge thing for Gucci. For him, a beast who does not have skills to fight or defend, to be given the task to help defend his master is not simple. It made him feel that his master trust his abilities to save him from his opponent. Now, he is fired up to help him!

Gucci started thinking of different ways to help his master. Should he bite her? He does not have teeth though. Should he kick her? He looked down and checked his body. He does not have legs. Should he punch her? He immediately realized he does not have hands. He is basically a moving soft jelly that has mouth and eyes! Such a simple-minded beast indeed!

Gucci then thought about the items he collected in his little backpack. This backpack that was bought by Can was not ordinary. Although, it looks small, it can contain a lot of items. It is like the special pouches that Tin bought for Can but way less expensive. Gucci removed the backpack from himself and opened it. Searching for items to throw at the opponent as he makes humming sounds like there was no serious battle going on, he found an item he recently received from a new friend when he was collecting magical herbs in his dimension. This item is a small square-shaped wooden talisman that has unknown carvings on it. Although it looked simple, it has a dark aura surrounding it. Gucci's new friend told him that if he was in any kind of trouble, he just needed to break this wooden talisman and he will arrive to help.

(A/N: I couldn't find a better picture, but this is how I see Gucci with a backpack XD.)

Meanwhile, after some time of laughing hysterically, Pannin finally composed herself. She will not let this opportunity pass so she once again dashed forward to attack Can. She completely ignored Gucci, who was in front of his master and was busy looking at items in his backpack. She knew that he could not fight so why bother attacking him?

_"Ice Gauntlets!"_

Gauntlets that were made of ice covered both Pannin's hands. If someone's flesh was hit by the ice gauntlets, it will immediately become frozen.

Can had no choice but to fight Pannin personally while thinking of a solution.

_"Heaven's Guard!"_

A shining golden shield that reflects the sunlight due to its quite polished appearance immediately descended from the sky and landed on Can's left hand. Can immediately attached the shield on his left arm and rushed forward passing by Gucci who was busy looking at a small item made of wood.

When the two opponents met in the middle of the stage, Pannin aimed for Can's body when she punched. Can saw her move and blocked her attack with his golden shield. His opponent was then sent back a few meters away. 

Once again Pannin dashed forward and then jumped after gaining momentum. As she jumped, Can raised his shield to block Pannin's attack.

"PERISH ALREADY!!!!" Pannin said as she was about to dive from the air to punch Can. She used this moment to increase the power of the gauntlets as she transferred more spiritual energy to them. Can did the same as he poured more spiritual energy to his shield.

When the gauntlet and the shield met, a gust of wind and vibration were created. Pannin flew away once again. The ground where Can was standing had huge cracks on them.

"You know that you won't win by just dodging?" Pannin said as she started breathing heavily.

"I won't give up," Can said as he also tried to catch his breath.

"THEN DIE!!!" Pannin screamed as her frustration grew while her threatening gaze intensified. She just needed a little bit more time. Valkyrie is almost finished. When her contracted beasts are done dealing with the angel beast, they could help her deal with this pest.

As Pannin once again tried to do another round of exchanging blows with Can, she heard a sudden crack sound from Can's red jelly-like beast. She stopped moving as her attention was shifted to Gucci. This beast seemed to break something?

As soon as the wooden talisman was broken, crackling fire sounds could be heard. The dark aura surrounding it expanded immediately which startled not only Gucci but also everyone including Can who was in front of him.

"What seems to be the matter little one?" said by a man with a deep husky voice who just appeared from thin air next to Gucci.

Everyone immediately gasped in horror and surprise.

"Tha-that's Thanatos!" one of the audience said as her voice shook shakily.

"Kyuuuu! Kyuuuu!" ("It's you!") Gucci said in excitement as he jumped multiple times.

When Can looked back, he could not believe what he was seeing.

"Thanatos!?" he said in surprise.

Thanatos is a magical knight who is a Legendary ranked beast. He is very well-known for his great proficiency in magic and swordsmanship. He is considered one of the best beasts in terms of defensive and offensive skills. With his dark spiky blue hair that attempts to hide his terrifying deathly gaze and the unique armor that is decorated with skulls, anyone who sees him will immediately be able to identify him. His huge black sword that is able to terrify everyone by just looking at it has the capability to pierce even the toughest defenses of any beasts. Yet even with his threatening look, he still has a lot of admirers not only due to his strength but also due to his handsome and well-defined face. There is only one record of Thanatos showing up in this world which is a very long time ago. On that record, it was mentioned how he was able to defeat Epic tier beasts single-handedly with one slash of his giant black sword. Even though this was a long time ago, his legacy remained.

Pannin immediately felt terrified after seeing Thanatos suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Her beasts immediately felt an oppressing aura and stopped attacking all of a sudden. Valkyrie immediately flew towards Can to defend him from the beast she knew very well.

"Kyu! Kyu! Kyuuuu!" ("Help me defeat my master's opponent, but don't kill them!") Gucci demanded.

Thanatos faced Gucci and nodded.

"Very well." 

Thanatos looked at Valkyrie and quickly made a small smirk on his face. This made the angel who always maintains a cool and dignified appearance angry. Thanatos then shifted his gaze and casually looked at Pannin's direction which caused Can's opponent to fall from the ground from the fear that she felt. Afterwards, Thanatos faced her contracted beasts with indifference. Everyone including Can was silent while Gucci has a proud look on his face. The magical knight slowly raised his left hand and snapped his fingers. The sound of the fingers snapping was heard by everyone due to how silent the entire coliseum has become.

After the snap, Thanatos faced Gucci.

"It's done," he said casually.

"Kyuu?" ("Really, that's it?") Gucci curiously asked.

When Can looked at Pannin's contracted beasts, he noticed that all of them stopped moving completely. Out of nowhere, they were immediately flung by an invisible powerful force out of the stage. Each crashed to the ground and created a huge hole after landing. None of them moved. They were like dead flies. Thankfully no one who was outside of the stage was hurt.

After seeing her precious contracted beasts getting defeated with just a snap of fingers, she gradually lost her reasoning and became mad. She immediately stood up and rushed forward to attack Can.

Can rushed forward to attack too. He wanted a pay-back for what she did to him. So what if she is a woman? She is crazy and rude to him! She needed to be taught a lesson.

"IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT! DIE!!!" Pannin screamed.

"YOU CRAZY WOMAN!" Can screamed.

_"Shield Boomerang!"_

As Can rushed forward, he raised his shield once again and twirl in order to gain momentum. He then threw the shield towards his target. As the shield flew, it increased speed and power.

Pannin, who was caught in surprise by the sudden attack, was unable to dodge. Her face was instantly hit by the force of the shield. She spun while she flew away from the stage. After landing on the ground outside the stage, she became unconscious.

After Pannin's obvious defeat, loud cheers immediately erupted in the coliseum. Pete and Ae sighed in relief. Tin was happy, but there was a slight pain inside of him. The three of them decided to go down and meet Can at the resting area.

With Can's second battle officially ending, his title as 8th rank remained. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey ya all! Long time no see! So here's another chapter. I love dogs in general which is why I really love Gucci from L.B.C and here too. I want Gucci to be a hero in some way so I made him an unexpected savior in a way here.
> 
> Anyways, I'll see you guys next week for another update. I really love it when you guys write comments so I appreciate it when you do it XD Whether if it is criticism or just random comments, I will always read them!
> 
> As always, thank you guys for supporting this fanfiction. Yeah ByE! :)


	24. Chapter 21 - Grievances

(unedited)

Can's opponent who was unconscious was immediately transported to the emergency facility in the university. Her contracted beasts that were defeated were already transferred back to their dimension.

"Kyuu!" ("Thank you!") Gucci ecstatically uttered as he jumped.

He was happy because he was able to help his master although it was mostly Thanatos who did most of the work.

"The debt has been repaid," Thanatos said as he squatted and patted Gucci's head while ignoring everyone's attention towards him.

In the audience area, the people were curious about Thanatos.

"What's the relationship between the two? If I saw it correctly, it was the slime beast that was able to summon Thanatos and not Can," one of the audience members said curiously as he rubbed his chin.

"It's weird, right? I have never seen such a thing happened. Can is truly an interesting person! Ahh, I can't wait to see more of him in action. I think this one of the best fights I've seen so far," the other audience member said cheerfully.

"Kyu-Kyu?" ("What debt?") the naive jelly beast asked the magical demon knight.

Thanatos put a genuine smile on his face as he continued to pat Gucci. This red jelly beast is truly naive.

"For saving me back then when I was heavily wounded," the demon knight said softly.

The people who saw Thanatos' facial expression felt a sudden chill all over their bodies. For them, Thanatos' smile looked like an evil smile where he was about to do something wicked. In Gucci's case, his smile looked like he was truly happy. Still, he noticed the slight sadness in his eyes.

"Kyuuuu! Kyuuu!" ("It's not a big deal. If I see someone who is in need, I should help them out. That's what master told me!") the red jelly beast proudly said.

"Your master?" Thanatos slowly glanced back at the kid who was beaten up earlier not far away from him. Can who managed to defeat his opponent earlier went back to check on Valkyrie. While communicating with Valkyrie, he suddenly felt that someone was staring at him and caught Thanatos looking at him. He suddenly felt chills. Why was he staring at him?

Valkyrie seemed to also sense that Thanatos was staring at her master so she immediately went into a defensive position as he blocked the demon's view.

"Valkyrie, what's wrong?" Can asked.

Valkyrie did not answer but rather focused her attention on Thanatos as she frowned in contempt.

Thanatos then focused his gaze on the angel beast and smirked. This foolish angel.

"Kyuu! Kyuu!" ("I have an idea!") Gucci said who seemed to have a great idea in mind.

The demon beast stood up then listened to Gucci.

"What is it little one?" he asked as he looked at slime beast.

"Kyuu!" ("Become my master's contracted beast!") Gucci enthusiastically suggested.

"Kyuuuuuuu! Kyu!" ("With you on our team, we'll be indestructible!") he continued. The red jelly beast imagined his master, Thanatos, Valkyrie, and other contracted beasts fighting evil individuals who might try to cause harm to them. Gucci also imagined himself as a hero fighting in the frontlines with his teammates!

"Pfft..." Thanatos immediately held his laugh as he looked at Gucci's expression. He could tell that this small beast was thinking of something ridiculous.

"Kyuu?" ("What's funny?") Gucci immediately returned to reality after hearing the knight's sudden urge to laugh.

Thanatos composed himself as he answered Gucci.

"I can't."

Gucci's mouth suddenly went wide in shock. Now his dream of having a powerful team with Thanatos has shattered!

"Kyuuuu?" (Really? Why can't you?) Gucci asked as he tried to know the reason.

"I don't have the ability to make a contract with anyone anymore. Even if I can, your master is still too weak to summon me," Thanatos casually answered.

The demon beast then snapped his fingers.

"I'll be going now."

With just a quick snap of his fingers, a dark spherical-shaped portal that is covered with purple lightning emerged from thin air.

"Until we meet again."

As soon as Thanatos entered, the portal immediately disappeared.

Valkyrie was finally able to calm down after the demon knight left.

"Do you know Thanatos?" Can asked after seeing Valkyrie's reaction changed from being alert to being calm.

"Yes."

Valkyrie's angelic voice had a sad tone to it when she answered Can. Her facial expression immediately became solemn. She seemed to reminisce the past and her regrets.

"He killed my previous master," Valkyrie said with a trembling voice as she gripped her lance firmly.

Can was stunned. Thanatos killed Valkyrie's previous master? Why? Can did not dare ask Valkyrie since it seemed that it is a quite sensitive topic for her.

"KYUU!" ("MASTER!!!") Gucci immediately jumped to his master's embrace.

Can caught Gucci sloppily. This beast does not fail to surprise him every time he is with him.

"Gucci! Thank you for saving us back there. I didn't expect you to have such a powerful ally," Can happily hugged his jelly beast as he praised him.

"Kyuu! Kyuu! Kyuuuuuu!" ("Of course! I'm Gucci, master's greatest beast!")

"Yes, yes, you are master's greatest beast," Can continued praising Gucci although he felt slightly guilty since he did not purposely summon Gucci in the battle. After breaking through the higher level, Can's beast communication skills have improved tremendously so he was able to perfectly communicate with Gucci. 

"Master, I'm going to return now."

Valkyrie went back to her usual self, but there was a subtle change in her behavior. Before Can could say something, Valkyrie already disappeared back to her dimension. Can wished that Valkyrie would be alright.

After some time, Can and Gucci went down the stage. As Can walked towards the resting area, he suddenly felt the pain coming back all over his body. He was too focused on the battle earlier that he forgot that he was injured. Every step that he took, a hiss will come out of his mouth because of the stinging pain.

Finally, after entering the resting area, he sat down to the nearest bench with Gucci on his lap. He looked around and saw that Ae, Pete, and Tin were approaching in a hurry.

"CAN! Let me quickly take a look at your injuries," Pete worriedly said as he rushed to Can's side. The little beast summoner was startled because of Pete's actions. He was like a mother who saw her kid stumble to the ground. After making sure that Can did not receive fatal injury, Pete immediately performed heal.

_"Heal!"_

A faint white light came out from both of Pete's hands and put them on Can's chest. All of the physical injuries that Can has suffered gradually disappeared.

While he was being healed, Ae congratulated Can on his another victory.

"You did really well Can. Also, I couldn't believe that you have Thanatos on your side. It was really amazing!" Ae said as he nodded in satisfaction.

"Thank you, Ae," Can said. He was a little embarrassed about being praised.

After Pete made sure that Can fully recovered, he finally went back to his usual self as heaved a sigh of relief.

"You're okay now," Pete said to Can as he smiled.

"How do you feel?" Tin immediately went in front of Can who was sitting down as he lightly shoved Pete and Ae to the side.

Can suddenly remembered what Pannin told her while the two of them were fighting on the stage. This made Can moody and irritated.

"Why do you care?" Can said with slight angered tone.

Ae and Pete were stunned by Can's sudden behavior as they looked at one another. Can's angry at Tin?

Pete had a feeling that Pannin probably said some lies to Can about Tin. He was going to explain to Can, but Ae immediately dragged him out of the resting area.

"Let them talk," Ae reasoned as they left Tin and Can.

Pete hesitantly agreed as he let Ae drag him out. Ae's true goal was to actually make Tin suffer a little bit. Let him fix it by himself!

Ae would later realize that he just gave Tin more opportunity to bully Can.

"Go and look for your girlfriend. She needs you more," Can continued to complain.

Knowing that Can was more energetic with his way of speaking than before, Tin felt more relieved.

"What's the matter?" Tin asked although he had an idea of what was in Can's mind.

He realized that Can might actually be....jealous?

Thinking about this, more oil was dumped to the fire within Tin's heart which gave him the uncontrollable urge to pounce on this little beast summoner.

"Hmph!" Can uttered as he refused to look at Tin at all. How dare he act as if he does not know what I was talking about! This arrogant prince deserves a beating! It is your fault this all happened!

Tin smirked and thought that Can was adorable.

"Is this about Pannin who you just defeated?" Tin asked. He wanted to tease Can a little bit more.

"Yeah, she said the two of you were supposedly together. She wanted to get rid of me because of you! Why was I the one who suffered and not you?" Can crossed his arms. He felt so wronged! This is definitely Tin's fault.

"Is it my fault that girls act crazy when they see me?" Tin whispered as he leaned closer to Can's left ear.

This arrogant bastard!

Tin's words made Can angrier as he pouted and frowned more. He is truly shameless!

"Get away from me bastard!" Can demanded. He was about to push Tin away from him when the ice prince immediately grabbed both of Can's arms.

"And if I don't?" Tin continued to smirk. He seemed to be taking this situation less seriously and was having fun rather!

Can did not respond to Tin's question. Instead, he tried to struggle but Tin's strength overpowered him, so he was unable to break free.

"It seemed that you would rather believe some random trash instead of me who has been really good to you," Tin continued to tease Can.

Can continuously struggled.

Tin leaned closer to Can's face and asked, "How should I punish a disobedient person who owes me his life hmm?"

The hot breath that came out from Tin's mouth as he uttered those words were felt by Can's cheeks. Those teasing words and warm breath sent an electric shock all over Can's body causing him to feel weak and unable to struggle. Those areas that were directly hit by Tin's breath became red and sensitive. It made Can's heart beat faster. His small Adam's apple bobbed as he tried to think straight yet he could not! His mind was muddled with Tin's teasing words! His heart was once again invaded by an unknown familiar feeling!

"S-stop. I'll stop," Can finally gave up as he stuttered while looking down. He was unable to look straight at Tin because he was scared that he would do something weird again. This bastard, what kind of magic is he using against me?

Tin was a little bit disappointed because Can gave up too quickly. He knew that this is not going to be the last time he would tease Can, so he calmed himself down. Still, he was holding Can's arms firmly.

"That girl and I are not together. The things she told you about me are not true," Tin casually said. Who would want to be with a trash?

After hearing those words, Can looked up at Tin. The ice prince immediately leaned much closer to Can's face once again.

As both of their faces became dangerously close, Tin seized this opportunity and stole a kiss.

Can froze in his position as his eyes widened.

After a few seconds, Tin parted his lips from Can's; a lingering sweet warmth stayed with them. He finally let go of the little beast summoner's arms after seeing that Can stopped resisting.

"If I really liked that girl, would I kiss you?" Tin asked with an arrogant tone.

Can slowly touched his lips with his right hand as he shook his head. He was trying to process what just happened!

"Now you know the truth," Tin continued.

With that one kiss, Can's doubts about Tin and his relationship with the crazy girl disappeared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Weekend is here once again! Uggh I'm tired XD 
> 
> Anyways, the other day when I was about to go to sleep, I was thinking about the path of which this fanfiction will go. I have a rough idea of where I want it to go. I also realized that it will take a long time to finish. I don't mind doing it though!
> 
> Thank you guys for supporting this fanfiction!
> 
> That's it really, I have nothing else to say. See you next week!


	25. Chapter 22 - Bribe and Crazy Master

The Summoner Beast Competition is coming to its end on its fifth day, Friday. Every participants in the competition have worked so hard in order to get into the top 100. A lot of them were able to enter the rankings, but some of them did not. Some of the beast summoners in the top 100 were replaced and felt the bitterness of defeat, but they will try again next year. As of now, the awarding ceremony is taking place.

In the coliseum, all the dozen stages that were used for dueling these past few days were already torn down and removed. The only thing that was left in the field of the coliseum was a huge stage for the awarding ceremony. It was not as grand as people may think. It was a quite simple white stage where there is a large wooden table in the middle of it. In front of that stage were the top 100 beast summoners sitting in their chairs. They were eagerly waiting for their names to be called and receive, not only the official recognition of their ranking but their other awards also.

As every participant knows, the top 100 are guaranteed to get unlimited supply of low-grade materials necessary to create beast food and to summon low-tier beasts. The top 50 are guaranteed to get a certain amount of mid-tier materials. The top 25 are guaranteed to get a supply of mid-tier beast food. The top 10 will receive a one-on-one training with high level veteran beast summoners and trainers. The top 3 are guaranteed to get a certain amount of high-tier materials. The top 1 is certain to get high-tier beast food and training manuals.

The dean of the university who looked very young despite his age and the high-level rainbow grade beast summoners were present on the stage. They will be calling out the rank 100 beast summoners and handing out the awards. There was a hint of excitement that could be seen, not only in the top 100 and other people that were present but also in the dean's eyes and some of the high-level rainbow grade beast summoner veterans.

They were happy about the outcome of the competition since there were exceptional students who shined throughout the event. Now the only problem is that these beast summoner veterans have to compete to get those exceptional students to their side and train them. By getting these exceptional students, their influence could increase and their fame would soar more. Most of them would like to take the one who made the whole event interesting, Can Rathavit. With the performance that he demonstrated, only a fool would not want to take him as a disciple so even if the competition has already ended, the competition among the veterans is yet to start.

"Ahem, we will commence the awarding ceremony," the dean of the university said with enthusiasm. Despite his looks, he still held an authoritative voice so everyone paid attention.

The top 10 beast summoners were, of course, sitting in the very front row. Ae who is still unsurprisingly the top 1 was sitting in the very first chair. Techno who successfully managed to take rank 5 was naturally sitting in the 5th chair. Kengkla easily took rank 6 and was sitting next to Techno. Can who was 8th rank was obviously in the 8th seat listening to the dean's speech.

Since calling the students starting from rank 100 until top 10 will take a while, people in the front row were in their phones. Can who checked his phone got a message. Sure enough, it was from Tin.

Tin: "I'll take you after your awarding ceremony." (sent at 9:30 a.m.)

Can: "So early!?" (sent at 9:31 a.m.)

Tin: "There's nothing else you will do after." (sent at 9:31 a.m.)

Yesterday, Tin asked if Can could cook for him in his house. Can was hesitant about it but after his mom happily and sort of forcefully allowed him to go, he eventually said yes. The thing that Can did not know was that his mother and sister were bribed to have a 3-day vacation to Japan to visit the most luxurious hotel spa in the country. If Can knew about this shady collaboration of his family and Tin, he would fume in anger and probably not talk to them for a week.

The dean started calling people from the top 10. Can was startled, so he immediately replied to Tin without thinking the consequences of the message he sent.

Can: "Okay." (sent at 9:32 a.m)

When Can's name was called by the dean, everyone's attention immediately went to Can. The people's emotion about Can was mixed. Their eyes were filled with excitement, admiration, and disbelief. Some were filled with envy and hatred. Overall, Can became an instant celebrity. His life of being unnoticeable is now gone. His every move in public will now be observed by others as they wait for his success and failure.

Can calmly went on the stage as his friends cheered him on. The veterans who were present instantly tried to meet Can and introduced themselves to him. The stage has become livelier compared to earlier. Can knew that these well-known veterans wanted to recruit him as their disciple, but he did not really know who he will choose. Although it is not mandatory for the top 10 beast summoners to have a master, having one will tremendously expand one's knowledge and level. So without any question, Can will have to choose a master. Right now, Can decided to just put this at the back of his head and worry about it later.

After the veterans have introduced themselves to Can, the dean handed a special small pouch that contained his prize. Can was really delighted since he did not have to work anymore in the Magic Beast Garden to get materials to create beast food. As part of his prize, if he wanted more materials, he could just ask for it! He is now further regretting that he did not join the competition last year.

"Congratulations Can Rathavit! I'm looking forward to your growth as a splendid beast summoner," the dean said happily. He shook Can's hands and guided him to the exit of the stage.

"Thank you!" Can said as he smiled back to the dean.

At the exit, the beast summoners' family and friends were present to congratulate them. Can's family was not present on this occasion. His mom told him that she was working and unable to take a leave from her work. Ley could not skip school because she has her final examination this week. Although no one from his family was there to be with him, he was not mad about it. He understood their situation, so he was not bitter about it. Still, sadness was still present in his heart. This morning, he did not see his mother and sister at all. They just disappeared all of a sudden which is weird because they would usually say something to him when they leave in the morning. He texted them, but he did not get any reply at all. He did not know that the two were already in Japan's most luxurious hotel spa and soaking themselves in a hot spring.

Can is really close to his family. It makes him sad that they are not there. If his father was still alive, then he will be the first one to congratulate him. Can immediately shook his head. Today is not the time to be sad!

As Can left the stage and was about to go back to his seat, his hand was pulled.

"Where are you going?"

Can turned around and saw Tin with Pete.

"Going back to my seat?" Can asked while confused.

"You said you are going to take me after the award ceremony?" he continued.

" 'Your' award ceremony, Can. You already said 'okay' in your text too," Tin answered as he slightly curved his lips upwards.

Can started thinking what Tin said and immediately understood him. This ice prince is truly mischievous!

"Fine! I'll just say goodbye to my friends who are in the front seats," Can said as he tried to remove Tin's hand that was grasping his hand.

"You can just text them. Pete is here. He could just tell them you are with me," Tin said without any hesitation. He would not let Can go to meet those trash.

"Uhmm....ermm...Congratulations, Can. I-I could just tell your situation to Ae and the others," Pete said awkwardly as he saw that Can was already being pulled by his childhood friend to the parking lot. Later when Pete told Ae about the situation, Ae got angry and was about to chase the two. Thankfully, Pete was able to stop him. Techno was a little bit disappointed because he wanted to treat Can for his achievement. Eventually, Can's group of friends decided to eat together.

After Can and Tin left the parking lot to head to Tin's mansion, a loud and seemed to be crazy old man came to disrupt the awarding ceremony. He looked like as if he just came from vacation from Hawaii with his outfit. He was wearing a Hawaiian shirt paired with black sunglasses, gray shorts, and leather sandals. There was a flower lei garland around his neck. On both of his hands were two suitcases.

"So where is this brat named Can Rathavit hmm?" the loud old man said as he interrupted the awarding ceremony.

"Who is this absurd old man!?" one of the top 100 ranking students asked as he whispered to his friend next to him.

"Look at his ridiculous outfit. Pfft... He probably went to the wrong place. Crazy old dude for sure!" the other friend who was sitting next to him said.

This crazy old man seemed to hear what those two students were talking and he looked directly at them. The gaze of the old man immediately startled the two students as they lowered their head.

"I left this place not too long ago and the students have become undisciplined already," the old man mocked.

Suddenly, the two students who ridiculed the old man were lifted from their seats and flung to the ground.

"Hmph!" the old man uttered.

The two students that were flung immediately shivered in fear. They did not know who the old man was, but they regret offending him.

"You old fool! You always make a scene when you come," one of the old veterans on the stage said in anger.

"Old Man Khang! You should be ashamed of yourself!" the other veteran loudly said.

When the students heard the name 'Khang', they were surprised and shocked. Who would have thought that one of the strongest beast summoners that are currently alive is this crazy old man? The students knew that Old Man Khang is a High-level Tier 6 Rainbow Beast Summoner.

High-level Tier 6 Rainbow Beast Summoners could only be counted by one hand. Entering the Rainbow Grade is already quite difficult but upgrading to higher tiers is extremely difficult. Only truly exceptional and lucky individuals can upgrade to higher tiers.

There are 7 tiers in the Rainbow Grade. The higher the tier, the more powerful you are. Currently, in this world, the most powerful individuals are those who are in the 6th tier Rainbow Grade. Old Man Khang can be considered as one of the strongest.

Old Man Khang ignored him as he scratched his ear and approached the front row.

"Where is Can Rathavit hmm?" the old man said.

Ae immediately spoke calmly, "He just left."

"WHAT!? That damn brat already left when the magnanimous me is generous enough to take him as my disciple!?" old man Khang said.

"Di-disciple!?" one of the veterans said.

This is a piece of news to everyone. They know that Old Man Khang never took a disciple. For him to want Can as his disciple then Can must be truly something! Unfortunately, now that Old Man Khang wants Can, none of the other veterans would try to get Can anymore. If they are to make a comparison between their strength and him, even if they combined their power, they are no match to Old Man Khang.

For Can to become Old Man Khang's disciple will truly make everyone envious! They would expect Ae to be likely more of his disciple but this is truly unexpected. Although Can's friends were a little disappointed that they were not also chosen by Old Man Khang, they were extremely delighted that Can was chosen personally by him. Besides, they already have their own masters!

"Tsk! That damn brat! I'll have to personally discipline him!!!" Old Man Khang said while he felt annoyed. He then looked at the dean of the university in the eyes.

"When he comes back to this university, tell him to come to my office immediately," he continued.

"Y-yes..." the dean answered as he stuttered.

"Hmph!" the old man said as he walked away with his two suitcases.

He is truly a crazy old man.

Meanwhile, the man in question sneezed.

"Are you okay?" Tin asked while driving.

"No, nothing. Someone must be talking about me," Can jokingly said as he chuckled.

Can was in a good mood today. He was looking in his small pouch and checking the various materials he got from the competition. He never saw these much materials in his life! Can also seemed to forget about Tin's misdeeds the other day. Somehow after Tin explained to him that he has no relationship with Pannin, it made him a little happy. The heavy feeling that he felt was gone.

"I could get those materials for you if you want," Tin said. If this cheap stuff could already make him this happy, then he would be happier if he gets high-quality material for sure.

"No. You know how I feel when you buy me expensive things. Besides I like to earn things with my own power," the little beast summoner said as he continued checking the pouch.

Tin just shook his head as he smiled. So adorable.

Little did Can know that as they slowly approached Tin's mansion, the closer he is to the tiger's den where the predator consumes its prey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, I was roller skating with some friends yesterday and I was sore because I fell so many times. Anyways, I'm already working on the next chapter. I might release it today or tomorrow or next week!! Bye!


	26. Chapter 23 - Celestial Flower

As Tin's car was about to enter the gate of his luxurious mansion, Can's eyes and mouth immediately widened from the view of the elegant and enormous building.

"Th-this is where you live?" Can stuttered due to his amazement as he checked out the surrounding area of Tin's place. It was so huge that Can would think that if Tin had a dog, its room would probably bigger than Can's house! He cursed at Tin in secret for being filthy rich and making him feel bad for being poor!

"We are here, Cantaloupe," Tin said to the little beast summoner who seemed to be mumbling to himself.

When he heard the name 'Cantaloupe,' Can who was already a little displeased at Tin made a frowned face. Tin only gave him a slight smile as he pulled the keys out from the keyhole of his car as if he did not see Can's reaction. He knew how Can hated it when someone calls him 'Cantaloupe' but he could not help it since it is fun to tease him. The more that Can tells him to stop calling him by that name, the more that Tin wants to tease him.

"I was trying to get your attention earlier, but you seemed to be in deep thoughts, so I had no choice but to say Cantaloupe," Tin continued as he opened the door of his car.

Can's mouth twitched. So in the end, it was his fault that he was teased! He pouted as he got out of the Tin's car.

As they approached Tin's mansion, there is a lovely garden that is home to different beautiful and lovely flowers surrounding the building. They were fully blooming as different insects happily gather around them. These flowers were still being maintained by the old gardener of Tin's family.

This garden was actually built by Tin's grandfather and would usually tend to them regularly. Shortly after his death, the old gardener who was his friend took the responsibility to maintain them.

As the two passed by the garden, the fragrance of the flowers flowed through the air. The fragrance, according to the old gardener, could calm people's hearts and keep one's mind in peace. It must be true since Can, who was frowning and pouting earlier, seemed to have calmed down. His mind has forgotten Tin's actions earlier as he admired the flowers around them.

While the two were walking, Can who seemed to be absorbed by the garden's beauty was stopped when Tin held a mysterious blue flower in front of him.

"What is it?" Can asked curiously.

"It's the Celestial flower. It will help restore a person's spiritual energy and gradually increase your level. I want you to have it," Tin said indifferently.

       

"Are you sure? " Can continued. He has heard several flowers that have different properties that could help an individual in some ways, but this is the first time he heard about the Celestial flower.

"Hmm," Tin nodded with a quick smile as he looked into Can's eyes which made the latter blush a bit.

"I have a lot of them in the garden. It would be wasteful if I don't use them in some way other than for decoration," Tin continued.

Can looked at the blue flower and asked "Th-thank you. Is there a way to take care of this flower?"

"It's a special type of flower since it wouldn't wilt. It gathers its spiritual energy from its surrounding. As long as there is an abundance of spiritual energy, it will live. You don't have to worry about it. Just put it in a vase and place it somewhere in your room," Tin explained as he continued to walk.

"I see. I'll take care of it. Is there anything you want in exchange?" the little beast summoner asked as he held the blue flower in his hand. Can did not like the fact that Tin always give him something and he could not repay him some way.

"I'm hungry," Tin said casually.

In reality, Tin has already been listing the things that he gave to Can so that he can use them as an excuse to 'tease' him later. Even though he gives Can a lot of things, this does not mean that Can is not obligated to pay him back. He is not giving things away for free. Of course, Tin does not want his money as a form of payment. Can does not have money to begin with. Everything has a price and Can will find soon enough what that price he has to pay.

When the two entered the mansion, Can was immediately astonished by the grand decorations that were displayed inside aside from the high-quality pieces of furniture and modern appliances. There were a lot of rooms that seemed to be endless. It was really huge that probably an entire people of a village could probably fit in here. Everything seemed to be perfect. The only thing that bothered him is the emptiness and somehow lonely atmosphere inside. He suddenly remembered Tin's childhood memories. Now, in this huge mansion, only Tin and his father live here. Can wanted to ask about Tin's family but he did not want to open his old wounds.

"The kitchen is this way," Tin pointed to the direction of where the kitchen is.

As they started walking towards the kitchen, Can seemed to realize that there was no one in the mansion aside from the two of them. With this huge mansion, someone is supposed to maintain and clean it. Tin would not be the one doing that obviously. He just thought that it was probably his maids' day off and just proceeded to follow Tin behind. He was right about the fact that the maids have a day off, but he missed the detail that today is not their official day off. Tin gave them a day off.

Inside the kitchen that the two just entered, every appliances and kitchenware were of high-quality. Of course as if a habit, everytime he sees something expensive, Can's eyes would glimmer and his mouth would widen due to admiration. All the kitchenware that he dreamt having are all here.

When Can started cooking for his family after his father died, he thought of trying to become a chef one time. In the beginning, he did a lot of research not only on simple and cheap food recipes but also different kitchen appliances and kitchenware. Since he was poor, he could not afford any of the high-quality kitchen items so being in this kitchen seemed to fulfill that silly dream of his when he was younger.

"You can use anything here," Tin said as he stood by the simple customized stainless steel food prep table.

Can became really happy all of a sudden. He nodded at Tin and then placed the Celestial Flower on the dining table. He then stood next to him by the food prep table. He took out a small special brown pouch which has all the ingredients he needed to prepare the food that Tin seemed to like so much. One-by-one he took out the ingredients. Before he began preparing the food, he turned to Tin and asked: "Are you sure you just want ham and cheese hot pockets and other simple dishes?"

Tin nodded. To be honest, Tin did not care what kind of food Can will prepare. As long as the food was made by him, he would eat it happily.

"Hm. Okay," Can smiled as he immediately started creating what he thinks is the best pastry dough for the ham and cheese hot pockets. When he was about to mix the necessary ingredients for his pastry dough, Tin stood behind him and enwrapped his hands around Can's waist. His face was close to Can's face to his right side. The rich prince's mouth almost touched Can's reddening ear. The breath he exhales sent tingling feeling to Can's whole body. It startled Can and made him stop what he was doing. When he looked down, he saw that Tin was just wrapping the apron around him. Did he have to be this close to him!?

"You don't want to mess up your clothes," Tin whispered to Can's ears. Those words somehow made Can close his eyes in fright. His heart started beating fast. He became quite nervous all of a sudden. He tried to calm down and told himself that Tin is just teasing him. He knew Tin likes to tease him and whenever he reacts, this filthy rich ice prince will continue to tease him. The thing that he must do is to show that he is not affected. He tried to pretend to not be affected by Tin's actions toward him.

Tin, who saw Can trying to endure and pretend that he was not affected by his actions, just smirked. He could clearly see Can's closed eyes and blushing face. How cute.

Tin could not help but tease him a bit more, so after wrapping the apron around Can, he tightened the ties of the apron. This action made Can jump in fright and let out a gasping voice.

"Ah!" Can uttered. He immediately felt embarrassed that he covered his mouth.

Tin just continued his somewhat evil smile and proceeded to put an apron to himself. Can regained his composure and looked at Tin. Is he going to cook too!?

With a puzzled expression on the little beast summoner's face, Tin could not help but say, "I could help cook."

"You can cook?" Can asked as he slightly frowned in confusion.

"No," Tin answered indifferently.

Can somehow felt satisfied that this seemed to be "perfect at everything" type of person has other things he is not good at. Now he is curious how this rich prince will fail miserably at cooking!

"Then?" Can continued as he tried to hide the grin on his face as he imagined Tin failing at cooking.

"You can teach me. I know the basics of how to use knives at least," Tin gazed at Can proudly.

"If that's the case, cut the ham into smaller pieces," Can suggested as he placed the fresh piece of ham on the table in front of Tin.

Tin stared at the piece of meat in front of him and took one of the knives from the knives holder in an elegant and cool way. Can's mouth just twitched. Let us see how you miserably fail and cut yourself! Hmph!

Tin started cutting the meat in a way as if he has been cutting meat for years! Every cut was precise and smooth. Is he just pretending that he does not know how to cook?

"Tss!" Tin uttered as pulled his left hand that was holding the meat. It seemed that he cut himself with the knife.

Can reacted quickly and took Tin's left hand to take a look at the cut. His face suddenly became full of worry. (A/N: What happened to your evil plan Can!?)

Tin raised his eyebrows in curiosity. Can seemed to really worry about him. He could not help but chuckle.

Can saw Tin's reaction and found out that he was fooled.

"You! Why did you do that!? You made me worry for nothing!" Can angrily said as he pushed Tin away.

"You're the one who assumed that I was hurt. I didn't ask for you to grab my hand and check it," Tin retorted as he went back to cutting the ham.

Can could not say anything back to counter Tin. Once again, in the end, it was his fault! Fine! If something were to happen to you, do not ask me for help! Hmph!

The two continued to cook food. Even though Can was a little mad at Tin, he still taught him how to cook properly. This time, Tin did not tease Can anymore and seriously listened to the master chef. Towards the end of the cooking session, Can was not angry anymore after seeing that Tin was serious about learning how to cook. He somehow felt accomplished because he never thought that Tin would actually depend on him to teach him how to cook.

After the cooking session, the two placed the food on the dining table and started eating. The two enjoyed their meal especially Tin who has been craving Can's delicious food. He is now thinking of ways to make Can cook for him. Even if he does not ask, Can is already thinking of an excuse to use his kitchen to cook food.

When the two finished the food, Can excused himself to use the restroom. He grabbed the Celestial Flower that was on the table and went to the direction that Tin gave him. Since the mansion was huge, Can got lost immediately. He did not know where to go so he decided to just enter one of the rooms in hopes that he will find the restroom. The little beast summoner stood in front of an old wooden door with unknown carvings on it.

Suddenly, the Celestial flower that he was holding glowed. Little blue orbs came out of it and went through the door. Can was curious about what was inside, so he decided to go in.

When he went in, he just saw a simple room with simple pieces of furniture. Unlike the things he saw around the mansion, this room seemed ordinary and out of place. There were a plain white bed, a wooden table with a flower vase and a picture frame placed on top of it. In the flower vase, there was a fresh white flower.

The little blue orbs were going to the direction of the wooden table that was next to the bed. They started surrounding the picture frame on the table specifically. Can slowly approached the table and observed the picture frame. It was Tin and his family. There was him who was a still a kid, his parents, and an old person. 

As more little blue orbs gathered around the picture frame, they started to form a male human figure appearance above it. This figure, even though he was transparent and blue, could be recognized. He looked like a ghost, but even though he looks skinny, weak, and old, he has a dignified aura surrounding him. He has long beard and long hair. Can was able to recognize this ghost immediately. It was Tin's grandfather!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey ya all! Here is another chapter of TinCan! If I have nothing to do, I will go and write some more. For now, this is what I have! See ya later!


	27. Chapter 24 - Granddaughter-In-Law

(unedited)

As soon as Can recognized Tin's grandfather, he performed a wai. He slightly bowed as both of his palms were pressed together in a prayer-like fashion. His demeanor changed instantly into a respectful tone.

Tin's grandfather slightly raised his eyebrows as his curious gaze focused on the kid. He put his palms together to wai back.

(A/N: I'm not familiar with Thai culture but I did a quick research on it so I included 'wai' greeting in the story.)

"Who might you be little one?" Grandfather Phiravich asked as he slowly stroke his beard.

"I-I'm Can Rathavit. I'm Tin's friend. I was just trying to go to the bathroom but got lost...," Can scratched his head from the embarrassment that he felt.

"Tin's friend?" Grandfather Phiravich said with satisfaction as he slightly smiled.

"You probably already know who I am?" the old man said asked.

"Yes, you are Tin's grandfather," Can answered without hesitation as he nodded enthusiastically.

The moment the old man heard 'Tin' once more, he felt a sense of guilt, regret, and hope. He felt guilty about not being with his grandson more when he was still alive. If he knew he was going to die at that time, he should have spent more time with Tin.

Looking at Can, his grandson has most likely turned into an adult already! He is probably a remarkable and more handsome person now. The old man is confident that Tin is a good-looking and a talented elementalist because naturally, these traits run in their blood. Thinking about these things about his grandson made the old man quite happy and proud. He just wished he was alive to see Tin's progress from childhood to adulthood.

Now that he had the opportunity to be awakened, he wants to see his family once more. He was curious about what happened to his troublemaking son and grandson after he died.

While reminiscing about his family, grandfather Phiravich realized the illuminating blue flower that Can was holding. It must be the reason why he was able to awaken.

After he died, his soul was placed inside a special necklace by his son. This necklace where he was in was put inside the picture frame of his family.

Even though he has no physical body anymore, grandfather Phiravich can still be considered alive. The only possible thing that he could do is communicate in a ghost form just like right now with Can. Doing this requires a high volume of spiritual energy around him. It was a good thing that Can held the Celestial Flower which has an abundance of spiritual energy.

Speaking of the Celestial Flower, he wondered why Can is holding one of the rarest treasures that his family possesses. For him to be holding such treasure meant that someone from his family gave it to him or he stole it deliberately. If a family member were to give this to him, then that means that Can holds great importance to that person. If that is the case, then he would not make a move against Can. If he stole the Celestial flower, then he would not be able to leave this place unscathed. Even if he could only communicate, he could alert someone in the mansion and make an action towards Can.

"That flower who gave it to you?" the old man asked as he frowned with curiosity.

Can looked at the Celestial flower that he was holding. It was still emitting small blue orbs of spiritual energy.

"It was a gift by Tin. He said he didn't want this type of flowers to be put on display in the garden, so he gave one to me. He said it would help me with increasing my level and spiritual energy restoration," Can said as he smiled slightly. Tin is really kind to him.

"That's all my grandson told you about this flower?" the old man continued to investigate. One must know that the Celestial flower is one of its kind. It only appears once every one hundred years. With how rare this flower appears, it could be considered a miracle for one to actually find it. Due to its rarity and the beneficial properties that it provides, it could already be categorized as a legendary item. Although not a lot of people are aware of its existence because of how rare this flower is, there are still some people who would covet such an item. In Can's case, he does not seem to know the importance of the Celestial Flower to begin with. Other than its beneficial properties, the Celestial Flower holds other meanings. It symbolizes unity and eternity for a couple. When a man who possesses the flower gives it to his other half, it means that the two of them will be together until the end of time. This could be equivalent to a wedding ring in a proposal of marriage. The old man did this when he proposed to Tin's grandmother. He knew for sure that he told Tin about this story and the Celestial Flower's meaning and its importance when he was a kid. Did he already forget? It should not be the case since he remembered the glimmer in Tin's eyes and the excitement that he had after hearing the story. He even promised to him that when he finds someone that he wants to be together until the end of time, he would give that person the Celestial Flower just like how this old man Phiravich did.

So for Tin to casually give this flower and even lie about its existence, what did it mean? Are these two in that kind of relationship already? This kid said that he is a friend of his grandson though?

As Tin's grandfather tried to put the pieces of the puzzle together, he could somehow figure out what was happening between the two. His two conclusions made him chuckle a bit. If they are only friends and his grandson is only helping Can to level then he would not mind. In any case, the Celestial Flower was already handed to him by his parents before. He could do whatever he wants with the flower.

The only thing that bothered the old man is the other conclusion that he had. It seemed to be that his grandson likes this kid and it's a one-sided love?

Now, Tin's grandfather does not care who his grandson likes as long as he is happy. The thing that bothers old man Phiravich is Tin's inability to actually get this kid's heart. One must know that the proud Phiravich family members are not only known for their capabilities as prominent elementalists but also their skills to seduce the person they like. It would be a shame to him, Tin's father and their ancestors if Tin could not get this person in front of him. For Tin to actually even use underhanded method by giving Can the flower without explaining the meaning of the flower is a sneaky and cowardly move! That rascal grandson of his deserves a beating. How shameless!

Can, who was standing as he stared at the old man who was thinking of ways to help his son to seduce a person, needed to go to the bathroom. He did not want to interrupt Tin's grandfather, so he awkwardly just stared at him.

"That's why it's taking you so long," Tin just casually said as his arms were crossed while he was leaning against the wall next to the door.

Can just stared at him with a clear sign on his face that says "I need to use the bathroom!"

Tin just smirked and nodded at him.

"Can could you please give my grandfather and me a moment to talk?" Tin asked as he walked forward towards Can.

The moment he heard another voice, Tin's grandfather immediately faced the source of the voice. It was his grandson who he wanted to see and talk to.

"Tin, my grandson," grandfather Phiravich said happily and excitedly as he saw Tin who is now an adult.

"Okay," Can calmly said to Tin. He was thankful that Tin saved him at that moment.

Can faced Tin's grandfather and said goodbye to him. Before he left, he gave the Celestial Flower to Tin so the spiritual energy will continue to flow in the room. When he was about to walk out, Tin grabbed his arm and whispered to his ear, "Bathroom is three rooms away to your right."

The closeness made Can embarrassed and blushed as he left the room. Tin, once again, had this pleasing look on his face.

His grandfather, who saw his grandson not paying any attention to him even though Can already left the room, became annoyed. They have not seen each other for several years. He was expecting that this grandson of his will be very delighted to see him just like back then when he was still a cute kid.

"Did you tell him?" Tin's voice changed more into a more cold tone. His grandfather immediately felt goosebumps. Even though he is already dead, he still felt the sudden coldness from his grandson. Why is he talking this way towards his grandfather! What happened to his cute grandson!? His tone was way different when he talked to Can.

"Is that how you greet your grandfather after not seeing him for years?" the old man said as he raised his voice playfully.

Tin just frowned at him and was not answering. This made the old man disappointed. Just like his stubborn grandson, he frowned and looked at him. If you think you are stubborn enough, then you will meet someone who is far more stubborn than you!

The two started a childish staring competition. After a few minutes of silence and staring, grandfather Phiravich became impatient finally gave up in annoyance.

"You rascal! Why are you this cruel to your grandfather!?"

Tin just repeated what he said earlier still with a cold tone.

"Did you tell him?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey ya all! So I'm done with my finals and now entering Spring Break. Because of this, expect daily updates this week! I will try to publish a chapter every day so watch out.
> 
> So I ordered Milk Tea w/ Boba and guess the flavor....Cantaloupe. It was alright. I like Thai tea better though XD
> 
> Alright, I will see you later!


	28. Chapter 25 - Upcoming War

(Unedited)

"Did I tell him what?" grandfather Phiravich asked in annoyance.

Tin did not answer, but he raised the flower that he was holding a little bit.

"The Celestial flower? Or do you mean how you deceived Can with the flower?" he continued while smirking as he revealed Tin's underhanded tricks.

Tin changed his tone of voice from cold to indifference as he stared at the flower he was holding.

"It would be unfortunate not to see grandfather anymore when this flower is gone," Tin casually said as he created a small fire on his index finger of his left hand.

"You ungrateful grandson! Why are you this cruel to me!?" the old man said as he felt the sweat started to form on his forehead. If the flower gets destroyed, unless there is someone or something that is willing to provide a huge amount of spiritual energy then he would not be able to be awakened in a ghost form. Even though he mentioned that Tin could do whatever he wants with the flower, destroying such important treasure that has sentimental value to him is not part of the deal. That would be horrible for him if the flower gets destroyed. Surely, his grandson would not dare put such important treasure on fire, right?

As if Tin sensed what his grandfather was thinking, he slowly closed the distance between the flower that he was holding on his right hand and the fire on his left hand.

"I didn't say anything," Tin's grandfather finally yielded as he tried to stop his grandson.

Tin slowly extinguished the fire on his left hand which in turn gave the old man a sigh of relief. That grandson that he used to spoil became a cruel and evil adult.

"What do you want?" Tin asked indifferently as he stared at the door while waiting for Can to come back already. In the bathroom, Can felt sudden goosebumps as he sneezed. Someone must have been talking about him!

Tin's grandfather seemed to notice his behavior. He realized that Tin had changed significantly. He is not the same Tin anymore who always tried to bother him and tried to get spoiled whenever he could. He wondered what happened when he was gone for several years. With the changes in Tin's personality, old man Phiravich did not know how to start a conversation with him.

"You really like that kid huh?" old man Phiravich calmly asked. Since his grandson likes Can so much, they could start talking about him. It is good to know about his future granddaughter-in-law if Tin is really serious about him. He also wanted to know more about the person who made his grandson head over heels that even this old man's existence does not seem to matter or compare to him.

"He saved me," Tin's indifferent attitude immediately changed as his expression became more sincere and soft.

Tin's expression made his grandfather's eyes widened from the astonishment. He figured that his grandson must be truly in love with Can. He knew this expression very well. Back then when he was young, he had this same expression when he fell in love with Tin's grandmother. It is as if that person is the only one that matters in this world. If this is the case, then he understands Tin's situation more. He would not be able to compete with Can for his grandson's attention. Still, this is no reason for Tin to disrespect and ignore his grandfather whenever he pleases!

Old man Phiravich relaxed while he put both of his hands behind his back as he continued talking to his grandson.

"Where did you meet him hmm?" he continued as he calmly asked his grandson.

Tin faced his ghost grandfather and surprisingly started talking with a soft smile on his face. He mentioned about how the two of them met as if it just happened recently with how vivid Tin's description of Can has become. His description is at that point that old man Phiravich realized that his grandson is truly obsessed with Can. With this sudden realization, he is now more concerned about Can rather than his grandson. Of course, he was unable to say his concerns to Tin since he was just able to talk to his grandson properly right now. He did not want to ruin this grandfather and grandson moment too early. He just wished Can good luck.

The two family members continued to talk passionately as Tin's grandfather continued to ask about Tin's life where the majority of the questions involved Can. Eventually, Tin became more open and the way he acts towards his grandfather slightly changed. His grandfather thought that as long as he mentioned Can in their conversation, his grandson would open more to him. He was right!

After some moments as he became comfortable talking to Tin once again, Tin's grandfather started asking about his son and the status of E.A. The relaxed atmosphere that the two had has turned into a serious one. Tin did not hesitate and told his grandfather what happened about his father who was in jail and the change in E.A's administration. As Tin continued to speak, his grandfather had a brooding expression.

The last moment that he saw before he died in his deathbed was the scene of his son crying next to him. He remembered his son who kept mentioning how he was sorry about what happened to him and how he would avenge his family from B.S.G.

When the accident struck his family, old man Phiravich was already weak due to the incurable curse that he received towards the end of the last war decades ago. When his son blamed B.S.G for what happened to his wife, he wanted to declare war once again. Of course, as the leader of the group back then and the one who forged a peace treaty successfully with B.S.G, he could not just let his son do what he wanted. He did not want another war to erupt because he knew how cruel and devastating it is. Aside from this, there was no clear evidence that it was the B.S.G that took his son's wife away. Even if it is the case, they cannot necessarily declare war. No matter how heartbreaking it is for his family, he could not sacrifice his people for one loss of a family member. But no matter how much reasoning or persuasion he tried, he could not stop his son from avenging his wife. Due to this, he had no choice but to restrain him. At that point in time, Tin's grandfather grew weaker as his resistance to the unknown curse became less. (A/N: refer to the incident in Tin's family on Chapter 8.)

One day, Tin's father broke free from his restraint. He was about to storm the B.S.G headquarters on his own when the sudden news about his father's health deteriorating rapidly became known. Immediately Tin's father went to his side to check on him. Even if he held grievances towards his old and sick father, he is still his family who he loved and cared so much.

Tin's grandfather, in his last moments, told his son how much he loved him. At the same time, he attempted to stop him one last time. Yet, the only things he got in return were apologies and more intense anger towards B.S.G.

 _"This is their fault! This is their fault! I'm so sorry father... I'll avenge our family. I'll make sure of it._ "

In the end, he could not stop his son. After he died, his soul was put in a necklace by his son and placed into a picture frame. His son just left him in there and never bothered to summon or awaken him. What was the point of putting him in a necklace then if you are not going to talk to me! The moment he died, his son naturally became the next leader of E.A.

Now, according to his grandson's story, his son became worse as the years passed by. It was just a good thing that his son was not successful with his plan, but he still felt sorry for him. Old man Phiravich heaved a huge sigh as disappointment and sorrow in his heart remained. That son of his is truly an idiot and a troublemaker! He even dragged his grandson to his evil schemes and turned him into an evil and cold person!

Tin's grandfather composed himself while he maintained his serious expression as he continued to listen to his grandson. The moment he heard "Gloom Under Night," his expression turned dark. Tin saw his reaction and became aware that there might be something big that is about to happen.(A/N: Refer to Chapter 10)

"I'm afraid that your father is not wrong about the existence of Gloom Under Night."

"What do you mean?" Tin slightly frowned.

"When I first heard about the real existence of this beast, I also found it ridiculous. Unfortunately, this beast is real."

Tin's grandfather paused for a second as he recalled the mission he had during the last war.

"During the last war, our group raided one of B.S.G's hidden underground bases. It only looked like a normal library, but the contents were from ancient times. I happened to find a scroll about the beast coincidentally. I wanted to report this to my superior, but we were ambushed. In the end, the entire place was burned down including the scroll. Even if I told anyone about the beast, no one would believe me, so I decided to just disregard it. Tin, my grandson, I have a question for you," the old man said.

Tin slightly nodded.

"Tell me, these past few years, were there any unusual incidents that happened while I was gone?" he continued.

Tin tried to recall the unusual events that happened these past several years and remembered a specific event that even his father thought was crucial.

"We had instances where people from different clans mysteriously disappeared. We don't know what exactly happened to them, but I believe they are connected to the case of the son's death of the family head of Diverse Spirit Clan. His life force was taken away," Tin explained. He then remembered how devastated his childhood friend became.

Tin's grandfather scratched his beard as he tried to recall the contents of the scroll he read.

"Hmm...they have initiated the first step..." old man Phiravich whispered.

Tin heard his grandfather's whispers.

"First step?" Tin asked.

"If I'm not wrong, the people behind these abductions are currently performing the first step to release the king of the beasts. There are three steps of release: strengthening, unbinding, and releasing. The first step requires the beast to be strengthened first. To be able to do this, the beast needs life force from strong individuals. The stronger the person is, the stronger the life force of that person will become."

Tin's grandfather continued to explain all the contents that he read from the ancient scroll.

"Does this mean B.S.G is plotting against us?" Tin asked as his heart suddenly filled with worry. He was worried about Can's safety.

"Not necessarily. I'm sure that the majority of B.S.G's members don't know the existence of the beast in the first place. Even if they knew, they would not take the risk of trying to control such terrifying beast. They would surely condemn this act. I'm quite confident that there are some B.S.G members who are trying to release the beast behind its organization's back," the old man continued.

"What should I do? No one would believe us," Tin said. His father already tried, but no one believed him. Not even his own son supported him back then. Tin regretted not helping his father, but it is too late now.

"The people behind this will surely make another move. No matter how perfect their plans might be, they're bound to make mistakes. When that happens, then we make our move," Tin's grandfather reassured.

"In the meantime, I want you to become stronger. Speaking of which, what is your current level?" old man Phiravich changed the tone of his voice into an excited one.

"I'm currently at peak Orange level," Tin calmly said. (A/N: Refer to Index)

"Hmm..not bad. Still, you need some improvements. Now that your father is in jail, no one is supervising your leveling?" Tin's grandfather continued to ask as he stroke his ghostly beard.

"No one," Tin answered.

Tin's grandfather was happy. He will have time to bond with his grandson! Although he feels guilty that his son is currently in jail, he knew that his son is as stubborn as him. He will surely survive on his own. After this mess with Gloom Under Night unfolds, his son will be able to find a way to get out of jail. In the meantime, he will teach his grandson the right path and help him level up to become a stronger elementalist.

"Don't fret my grandson because the strongest elementalist of his generation is here to help and guide you," the old man immediately became energetic and enthusiastic as he gave his grandson a thumbs-up.

"There's no need. If there's nothing else you want to talk about, I'm leaving," Tin indifferently said as he faced the door and slowly walked away.

The old man clicked his tongue as he furiously said "Tsk! You ungrateful brat! Come back here! Do you think with your current strength, you can protect Can?"

Tin immediately stopped. His grandfather seemed to strike Tin's chord. When it comes to Can, Tin would do anything for him. If there is a war to be fought, then he needed to prepare and to make himself stronger to protect Can. The old man's grandson, once again, turned and approached his grandfather.

"Now you're thinking! Take the necklace inside this picture frame," Tin's grandfather ordered as he pointed at the his family's picture frame.

When Tin looked at his family's picture frame, he immediately recalled the happy moments he had when his family was still complete. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It was all in the past now. What matters to him now is Can only.

Tin opened the wooden picture frame and took the necklace out.

"Good, now put a small amount of your spiritual energy into the necklace. By doing so, I could communicate with you even without this ghost form or relying on a huge amount of spiritual energy anytime," the old man continued to explain.

Tin followed his grandfather's orders and put a little bit of spiritual energy in the necklace. Afterwards, the ghost form of his grandfather disappeared as the Celestial flower's spiritual energy was depleted completely. Tin wore the necklace and left his grandfather's room while still holding the Celestial flower.

The wooden picture frame was left standing on the simple wooden table. The once happy family that was captured in the picture was still being illuminated by the natural light coming from the opened door. As the light slowly fades, darkness gradually grew inside trapping the happy memories of the past. As it completely enveloped the room, a pure petal of the white flower fell, signaling that its beauty is slowly fading and starting to wilt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well this chapter is a little long. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Now onto the next one!


	29. Chapter 26 - Trial

(unedited)

In the bathroom, Can just received a phone call earlier from her mom.

"Cantaloupe, our house is infested with termites! It will take two days to remove them by pest control. I already asked Tin earlier if you could stay in his house for two days. He already said yes," Can's mother said in a faked panicked state.

"Y-you already asked Tin without consulting me first!? Where are you staying then? How about Ley? I should stay with you!" Can worriedly asked. He wondered how their house became infested by termites in one day. He never saw a single termite in the house earlier in the morning. Probably he was not paying attention at all because of the competition that is why he did not notice? That must be the reason.

"Don't worry about us we are fine, just stay there for now. Be a good kid and don't make any trouble for Tin. Got it?" she continued talking in a more calmer tone.

"How about my clothes and other personal items?" Can asked nervously.

"They will be sent there in a bit, so relax," his mom replied.

"O-okay. Then take care mom. Also, tell Ley to take care too. If you need me with anything, just call me," Can answered. Since her mom already took the time to ask Tin for him to stay, then he might as well stay.

While talking to her mother, he heard someone else's voice on the other side of the phone.

"Ma'am, would you like some more green tea?" the unknown voice of a polite lady said.

"Who is that?" Can curiously asked as his eyebrows furrowed a bit.

Her mom immediately panicked and made up a scene on the spot.

"Can, what? I-I can't hear you. There-the reception here... b-bad. I'll..later....bye..." Can's mother immediately ended the call.

She took a deep breath and faced the Japanese server who was holding a teapot full of expensive green tea infused with other herbs. She was lying in a massage bed faced down while being continuously massaged by a great big masseuse.

"Yes, more tea for me please," she said as she smiled while her face was covered with an exclusive herbal face mask.

Her daughter who was also lying in a massage bed next to her was sipping her hot green tea.

"Mom, do you think we could still extend our stay here? I don't want to leave this place," as she pats the face mask on her face.

Her mom could only sigh.

"Even if we want to, we can't. Just enjoy it as much as we can for two days. Also, don't worry about Can too much. He's going to be fine. Tin will take care of him." her mom said as she lets out a satisfying breath from being massaged from the back.

"I'm not really worried," Ley said as she continued to pat the face mask on her face.

"You're really a brat to your brother," her mom blurted.

"I got it from you," Ley sarcastically said.

The two stared at one another and laughed as they continued to sip their tea.

Meanwhile, Can who just went out from the bathroom felt goosebumps as he once again sneezed. Why does he feel that a lot of people are talking behind his back today? Or is he getting sick?

Can proceeded to go to the kitchen and wait for Tin to finish his conversation with his grandfather. When he finally arrived at the kitchen, he was surprised to see that Tin was already in one of the seats near the dinner table staring into space and in deep thoughts. Initially, Can thought that Tin's conversation with his grandfather would be longer since it has been a long time when they last saw one another. He guessed they were probably done already.

Slowly, the little beast summoner approached Tin to talk to him about staying in his mansion for two more days. As he approached Tin, the ice prince seemed not to notice his existence at all. Can felt that something was off with him. He wondered what Tin and his grandfather talked about.

"Umm Tin?" Can softly said.

Still, Tin did not budge.

Can decided to tap his shoulders but when he did, his arm was caught by Tin. He immediately flinched because of the sudden movement made by Tin and felt a slight pain from the firm grasp on his arm. When he looked at him, Tin's face showed a slight expression of paranoia. Can became scared of Tin as his body shook a bit.

When Tin came back to his senses, the first thing that he saw was Can being scared. It made the ice prince's heart ache. He did not mean to scare Can. He was in deep thoughts about the future and how he has to become more powerful to be able to protect his loved ones. He did not want the tragedy that happened to his family to occur once again. He cannot let that happen. Not anymore.

"Tin, my-my arm...it hurts..." Can uttered softly as he lightly hissed in pain.

Hearing Can's request, Tin released the little beast summoner's arm.

"I'm sorry," Tin said as he avoided looking at Can. He felt guilty and somehow could not bear to see him in that state.

Can caress the arm that Tin grabbed. Even though he was surprised by his actions, he knew that Tin must be worried about something and did not mean to hurt him.

There was a sudden awkward silence between the two.

After a few moments, Can took a deep breath and calmly started a conversation with a fresh topic. Can knows that Tin is not the type of person to share his problems with other people, so he decided to just let Tin talk whenever he is ready to share his problems with him.

"About my mom?" Can embarrassingly asked.

Tin expression became softer when he saw that Can tried not to be affected and bothered by what happened earlier. He appreciated that Can was able to understand his situation even if he did not share his thoughts with him.

"Yes, we've talked. You can stay here for two days or live here as long as you want," Tin said as he initiated to tease Can.

Can was glad that Tin went back to his usual self. Still, he is not used to getting teased by him!

"Ahh, no...no I don't want to trouble you!" Can answered.

"There's no problem. I'll be alone during the weekends so I would not mind that you're here to accompany me."

"Just the two of us for two days?" Can somehow felt nervous all of a sudden.

"Is there a problem hmm?" Tin asked in a seductive tone as he closed the distance between the two of them.

Can instantly panicked and started stuttering.

"No, there's no problem. Um..where-um where am I going t-to stay then?"

Tin pointed at the room not far from the kitchen.

"That would be your room, but you are free to stay in my room if you want?" Tin whispered in his ears.

Can's neck shrunk like a turtle going back inside its shell as he tried to avoid Tin's advances. Unfortunately, he was unable to avoid blushing slightly.

"Stop joking with me!" Can decided to walk away, so he can calm down. He also wanted to check the room he is going to stay in.

"I'm going to check the guest room. Before I go, do you want anything for dinner?" Can continued as he faced Tin once more after he calmed down a bit.

"I'm afraid I can't join you for dinner. You can eat without me," Tin said as he plastered a small smile on his face. Although the smile was sincere, he still looked a little sad.

Can somehow felt some tightness around his heart.

"Oh okay. Hmm, how about breakfast?" Can asked.

"I'll join you for breakfast," Tin answered still maintaining eye contact with Can.

"Alright, I'll see you later then."

The little beast summoner waved his hand as he went back to his room. As he walked away, he put his right hand on his chest to check what was wrong with his heart.

"It's for both of your own good. This is nothing but a small sacrifice," the voice of Tin's grandfather coming from the necklace filled Tin's head.

"I understand," Tin replied.

"The sooner we start training, the better the results," old man Phiravich said firmly.

Tin looked at the room where Can would stay one last time before he walked away outside the mansion.

As soon as Can entered the room where he was staying, he was blinded by how elegant the room is that he even needed to cover his eyes to exaggerate his reaction.

(A/N: You know how in anime when a character see something gorgeous or expensive, there's this light that just blinds that character XD This is Can's reaction.)

In the middle of the room was a king size bed with neatly adjusted white pillows and a soft comforter. There were black sofa chairs, two detailed floor lamps, two small dark wood tables on both sides of the bed, wooden cabinet, small refrigerator, video game consoles, etc. There was a personal bathroom too! It is basically a place where everything you need in a house is all in this one room. It makes you not want to leave the room at all!

Suddenly, Can wondered if he is in the wrong room!

"This is not the master's bedroom is it?" Can asked himself. He knew for sure that Tin pointed at this room as the guest room, so he should not be mistaken. In any case, Can decided to just settle down in this room.

He started exploring and touching the expensive pieces of furniture that he would only be able to witness once in his lifetime. He then went ahead and sat on the comfortable bed. With both of his hands, he started caressing the sheet that covered the luxurious bed. So smooth! He wondered if he sold this piece of bed sheet, how much money would he get?

Before he could think of anything bad, Can immediately shook his head.

"Can you can't do that! That's illegal! No matter how tempting these things are, you can't do it! Your parents raised you correctly!" Can scolded himself.

The little beast summoner seemed to forget and ignore the small conspiracy in this room. Earlier when he asked for the location of the bathroom, Tin did not direct him in this guest room, but instead the other bathroom. The reason for this is so that Can would not be able to find out that some of his belongings including clothes and skin care products were already placed neatly in the cabinet before they even arrived at the mansion that late morning. When Can saw his belongings in the room later in the evening, he did not have any kind of suspicions. Can's simple-mindedness saved his family and Tin from being exposed!

Can lay in the quite comfortable soft bed and decided to take a nap. When he woke up, it was already 7:00 p.m. He got out of bed and went outside of his room. If someone was to see him at that moment, that person would probably laugh. Can's hair looked like a cow licked it with how messy it was and how it stood straight as if hair gel was applied to it. But since no one is there, Can did not notice his messy hair. Since Tin is not going to join him for dinner, Can quickly made himself some food. While he was eating alone at the dinner table, he looked around to see if Tin was there. Although he knew that he is not going to join him, Can could not help but hope that Tin would join him for dinner. He was not used to eating dinner alone since usually, he would eat with his family. Can thought of summoning Gucci to accompany him, but the gelatinous beast is currently under transformation. His other beasts are also busy training and doing their own things in their dimension, so he did not want to disturb them unless it is necessary. They might just laugh at him for asking one of them to accompany him for dinner. He did not want that.

With Tin's situation, he wondered how Tin dealt with being alone at the dinner table. Speaking of Tin, where did he go?

In the training field not far from the mansion, Tin was currently in a meditative posture. Currently, beads of sweat are forming around his forehead as his face showed a sign of pain. His eyebrows that were furrowed started twitching. His eyes were closed as he maintained his focus.

"Now, slowly release your elemental orbs," old man Phiravich said as he is strictly guiding his grandson.

Following his grandfather's pointers, Tin slowly released the elemental orbs that he possessed one-by-one.

Each of these particular orbs represents an element that Tin currently possesses.

There are twelve known elements: Air, Earth, Water, Fire, Wood, Ice, Lightning, Metal, Blood, Light, Darkness, and Void. Generally, a normal elementalist could harness three to four elements. Having five elements could already be considered above average. A person who can harness six and above elements can already be considered rare and a genius. One has to know that as you gain a new element, the harder it is to gain another one which is why the average elementalist could only get three to four elements. In the history of the elementalists, the only known person who managed to possess the twelve elements is the founder and the first elementalist in history.

The cold wind started to blow smoothly allowing the short grass of the training field to sway. Aside from the illuminating stars of the night sky, the only other source of light in the training field was the various brightly colored elemental orbs that started to appear and float around Tin. With all of his current elemental orbs present, his trial will now officially begin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew another chapter!!!! ALRIGHT LET'S DO THIS AND GO TO THE NEXT ONE!!!! XD
> 
> Thank you guys for your patience!


	30. Chapter 27 - Small Note

The next day on a Saturday morning, Can got up early to prepare breakfast. It was 6:00 a.m. Usually, at this time, he would be asleep until noon, but since he is currently under Tin's roof, he has no choice but to get up. In any case, Tin wanted to eat breakfast so he cannot make him wait. Besides, Can also wanted to use the magnificent kitchen anyways.

Firstly, before anything else, Can texted his mom to check on her and his sister, Ley. After texting, he went to the kitchen and prepared food for breakfast. Since he forgot to ask Tin what he wanted for breakfast yesterday, he just decided to cook several dishes, so Tin would have some options to choose from. When he finished cooking, he was thinking whether to knock at Tin's door or to text him that the food was now ready. He chose the latter.

_Can: "Breakfast is ready." (sent at 6:50 a.m.)_

After sending the text, Can put the food he prepared on the dining table. He was in a good mood. This was evident with his constant humming. When he finished placing the dishes on the table, he sat down on one of the chairs and waited for Tin to reply.

Five minutes have passed, but he did not get any reply from Tin. Still, the little beast summoner continued to hum. He thought that Tin was barely waking up, so he waited. Ten minutes turned into thirty minutes. That thirty minutes turned into an hour. Still, no reply from Tin.

The food grew cold but Can did not seem to notice it because his mind was filled with Tin. He decided that instead of waiting for Tin to reply, he would just knock on his door. Standing up from his seat, he walked towards Tin's room. As he stood in front of the door, he started to become nervous.

"He said he would join me for breakfast, so it's okay if I knock on his door," Can told himself as he tried to motivate himself to knock on the door.

He slowly raised his right hand and formed a fist. Using his knuckles, he knocked on the door.

"Tin, I made breakfast," Can said as he slightly raised his voice.

There was no reply or movement that can be heard on the other side of that door. Was he still asleep?

Can repeated knocking and calling out to Tin, but this time it was louder. Still, no reply or any movements inside the room.

The little beast summoner felt lost. What is he supposed to do then? After a few moments of thinking, he decided to go inside Tin's room to see if he is actually inside or not. Slowly turning the doorknob and opening the door, Can peeked inside the room. Unsurprisingly when he saw the contents of the room, it truly befits a person from a royal family. It was fully furnished with items only the rich could afford. Although Can would like to admire the rich prince's personal room, he was there to look for the actual owner. When his head turned to look at Tin's bed, no one was there. Where did he go?

"Tin? Are you here?" Can made sure one more time that the rich prince was not inside his room, but he still did not get any reply in return. He decided to take his phone out and call him. As his phone rang, another phone started to ring inside Tin's room. Looking for the source of the sound, Can found Tin's phone on the small dark wood table next to his bed. Why did he leave his phone?

The little beast summoner scratched his head as he was contemplating what to do next. He was thinking of checking each room to see if Tin was inside of one of those rooms, but he thought that by the time he checked every room, it might already be afternoon. As he became frustrated, he decided to check outside the mansion to see if he was there somewhere. He would like to check the garden and feel the fresh morning breeze anyways.

When he got out of the mansion, he started wandering around the garden. The garden's pleasing appearance gave the little beast summoner ease and peace of mind. As he further explored the surrounding of the back of the mansion, he found a small stone path.

Curious where this path ends, Can decided to follow its trail. At the end of the trail, he stumbled upon what seemed to be an open grass field. As he looked around, he noticed an individual surrounded by colorful orbs. Immediately, Can recognized that individual. He wanted to get closer to him, but he realized that Tin was going through a trial.

Can knew things about elementalists, since they were part of elementary school history class. If he remembered correctly those are the elemental orbs. The only time they would come out was usually during a trial to strengthen an elementalist's power or to gain a new element.

The little beast summoner observed the elemental orbs surrounding Tin. His heartbeat suddenly rose as he started counting the elemental orbs. Tin has eight of the twelve elements! Even if he is not an elementalist, Can is well aware how rare for someone to even have six elements, let alone eight!

One by one, Can tried to identify the elements that Tin possessed. Since elemental orbs have their own unique color, they were easy to identify.

"Air, Earth...Water, Fire, Wood.....Ice, Lightning, and Metal," Can gulped his own saliva because he could not believe what he was seeing. He did not know how powerful Tin was to begin with. If his estimation was correct, Tin should be able to break through the highest realm: the rainbow realm. Of course, this should be expected from the heir of E.A., but to see his power in person, it instantly made Can feel inferior. The gap between him and Tin's strength is like the gap between heaven and earth. It will surely be terrifying and interesting to see when he uses his full power.

Not wanting to bother Tin, Can went back inside the mansion with some uneasiness trapped inside of him, but he did not let it bother him too much. In the kitchen, he ate a portion of his food and wrapped the rest of the leftovers with a plastic wrapper he found in one of Tin's kitchen cabinet. He then put them in the refrigerator. Before he went back into his room, he decided to write a message on a small piece of paper on the dining table.

_"Food is in the fridge. If you want more food, call me or knock on my door."_

It was already afternoon and was lunchtime. When Can came out of his room to eat a quick snack, the food he left in the fridge for Tin was left untouched. It seemed that Tin was still not done with the trial.

Since there was still food left in the fridge, Can did not cook food for lunch. He went back to his room after getting some snacks. Because he could not train in order to level up since there was no open space to train with his summoned beasts and could not bother Tin for a space to train, he started playing some video game on his phone to distract himself. He was so consumed by the game he was playing that by the time he finished, it was already dinner time. When he came out of his room once again and checked the fridge, the food he made for Tin was still untouched. Can scratched his head. He knows that a trial takes a long time to finish, but he had no idea it was this long!

The little beast summoner does not know whether he should cook dinner or not since there was still food in the fridge. Finally, after some contemplation, he decided to cook dinner for Tin. The leftovers in the fridge will just be eaten by Can instead. After finishing cooking dinner and eating the leftovers, he once again wrapped Tin's food in a plastic wrapper and put them in the fridge. Not waiting for Tin to come back, Can went back to his room to take a bath then go to sleep.

In the training field behind the mansion, Tin's face has slowly regained its natural color after going through hardship during the first phase of the trial where he almost fainted.

Tin raised his left hand and satisfaction showed on his face. There was a dark red colored orb floating above his left hand. Through his grandfather's teaching, he managed to gather a new element: blood. At the same time, he finally broke through the rainbow realm. With newly acquired power and strength, he would be able to perform a mix of more powerful and devastating spells.

"I won't be too cocky if I were you. Your powers are not even as half as good as mine. You can only brag when you surpass me," the voice of Tin's grandfather from the necklace said smugly.

"I'm well aware of that, but I assure you that I will surpass you and father," Tin said as the dark red orb disappeared from his left hand.

Grandfather Phiravich is considered as one of the best elementalist in history. He was a tier 6 rainbow level elementalist who was able to harness eleven of the twelve elements. His son, Tri, was tier 3 rainbow level elementalist who was able to harness ten out of the twelve elements. Even though breaking through the rainbow level at Tin's young age could be considered as a heaven-defying miracle, it was still considered as unsatisfactory to his grandfather.

"If our ancestors were here, they would just mock at your small achievement. If you remember...," Tin's grandfather started talking about the most remarkable elementalists in history. It is as if it is elementary history lessons all over again. Tin knew what his grandfather was talking about. He knew that his current abilities are still not enough.

"Now go on and take some rest. Tomorrow morning we'll continue the second phase of the trial," old man Phiravich said to his grandson.

During the second phase of the trial, Tin has to attempt to control the newly added element into his elemental core which holds all of his elemental orbs. He also has to attempt to create a balance between the newly acquired element and the rest of the elements that he owns. If he fails the second trial, there will be a turmoil inside his core that would cause instability. This could lead to the destruction of his core and even death.

Tin understood this very well since he already did several trials already. He also knew that as he gathers new elements, the higher the risk he has to take.

As soon as Tin stood up, he fell immediately. Since he used most of his spiritual energy during the trial, he was fairly weak. It was just a good thing that the training field naturally accumulates a lot of spiritual energy from its surroundings. Gradually, Tin got enough amount of spiritual energy to move without too much difficulty.

When he came back inside the mansion, he went to the kitchen to drink some water since he was dehydrated. While he was drinking, he saw a small note on the dining table. As he read the note, an instant smile was carved into his face. He proceeded to walk to the refrigerator and took out the different dishes that Can prepared for him. After reheating them from the microwave, the nice fragrant smell of the food spread into the air which caused Tin's appetite to be stimulated. Without wasting time, he started eating after finding a place to sit. With every bite that he took, it just made him crave for more.

After finishing all the dishes and putting them in the dishwasher, he went back to his room satisfied as he quickly took a bath and cleaned himself. When he came out of the bathroom, Tin checked his phone that was on the bed and saw notifications of messages and missed call from Can. Wanting to see Can, he decided to visit the room next to his.

Tin opened the door slowly as to not make a sound and sneaked inside the little beast summoner's room. He saw that Can was already asleep in his bed while his phone while still turned on playing some music. As he sat down on the edge of Can's bed, he took Can's phone and turned it off. He then turned on the lampshade that was next to the bed in order to see Can's sleeping face and posture.

"Stupid Tin...You said....breakfast with me....liar..." Can who was still asleep started to sleep talk and mumble.

Tin could not hide the small chuckle that he revealed. He did promise him that he would join him for breakfast, but the trial took longer than expected. He did not know that Can would actually hold a grudge on him on his sleep. How cute.

Using the back of his right hand, he slowly caressed Can's cheek. With every stroke, a comforting yet exhilarating sensation was felt by Tin.

Slowly and carefully, Tin leaned his face forward and closed the distance between him and Can who was still sleeping soundly.

"I won't break my promises next time, but in return, you should be aware that you only belong to me," Tin whispered as he proceeded to leave a warm kiss on Can's forehead.

"Goodnight, Cantaloupe."

The next day on a Sunday morning, when Can woke up, he heard some light movements in the kitchen. He immediately got out of bed and went outside of his room. Unfortunately, it was not the person who he was expecting that was in the kitchen. It was Ae and Pete.

"Can, good morning!" Pete happily said. For some reason, every time Can sees Pete, he keeps noticing this certain glow on his face. What is his skincare secret?

"We made breakfast, come," Ae said as he tapped the seat next to him.

"Why are you guys here?" Can asked as he sat down next to Ae.

"Ohh, Tin asked us to come here to accompany you," Pete replied as he placed down the simple dishes that he made on the dining table.

"That Tin only asked Pete to come, but I insisted on coming. Did he do anything to you while you were here?" Ae asked with a concerned look.

Can stared at the food that Pete made. They were slightly burned.

"No, he didn't do anything. Where is Tin by the way?" Can asked as he took a piece of slightly burnt hot dog from the plate and ate it. It tasted quite bad.

Ae looked at Can straight into his eyes and gave him the signal not to complain about Pete's food. The little beast summoner could not do anything, so he ate and swallowed the burnt hot dog with no complaints as he awkwardly smiled at Pete who seemed to be waiting to get praised.

"Good..." Can said as he drank some water.

"Thank you. Tin is doing the second phase of the trial. It would most likely take him the whole day to finish," Pete said happily as he puts another hot dog on Ae and Can's plate.

"Why didn't Tin tell me anything?" Can asked. Tin should have woke him up and talked to him when he went back to the mansion.

"He didn't want to disturb your sleep," Ae said as he took a bite of the hot dog. When Can saw Ae eating the hot dog, it seemed that he was already used to the taste when he did not show any weird reaction at all.

"I see," Can felt a little sad. He has not seen Tin for a day already.

"Was he alright when you met him?" Can continued asking.

"Yeah, don't worry about him. He's fine," Ae replied.

The little beast summoner heaved a huge sigh and nodded. Ae and Pete, who noticed his reaction, looked at one another.

The couple decided to distract Can by discussing about the events that happened during the award ceremony and helping them prepare Shrimp Rice Soup for lunch.

Thankfully with Ae and Pete, Can was able to distract himself that day. When the night fell, it was time for Can to pack up the stuff that was brought in the room that he stayed in. Ae and Pete helped him out at packing. Before he left, he made sure to cook dinner for Tin. When he placed the food inside the fridge, he realized that the food he made yesterday was gone. He asked the couple if they ate Tin's dinner food, but the two said no. He then noticed the note that was stuck on the fridge.

_"They were delicious."_

Can took the note and smiled as he reread its contents. Since he could not disturb Tin, he took a piece of sticky note that he found and wrote the same message he wrote yesterday with some additional notes.

_"Food is in the fridge. If you want more food, call me or knock on my door. Thank you for letting me stay here. I appreciate it."_

As he left the mansion with his friends, Can, once again, started humming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm just going to drop this here....I have nothing much to say......I'm tired XD


	31. Chapter 28 - Field Trip

(Unedited)

When Can finally arrived home, the first thing that he did was check the structure of the house to see the damages that were caused by the termites. Surprisingly, nothing has changed. Everything looked the same. It was like there were no termites to begin with. The pest control company that exterminated the termites must be really good!

The only thing that was different in the house was his mother and sister. They seemed to be dispirited as if they were done living in this world.

"What's wrong with the two of you?" Can curiously asked as he placed his suitcase near the stairs.

"Nothing, just wished we stayed longer in that....." Before Ley could finish her complaint and slip of her tongue, her mom immediately nudged her.

"We are just tired that's all," Can's mom glared at Ley. The latter closed her mouth and tried to change the topic.

"How was your stay with Tin?" Ley asked as she started imagining different scenarios in her mind.

Can reminisce the things that he did while he stayed in Tin's mansion. He definitely had a good time. 

"It was good," he said as a quick smile formed on his face.

Can's mother and Ley looked at one another. They knew something good must have happened between the two, but they decided not to ask.

The Rathavit family continued to catch up on things that happened to them especially Can's competition last week. Of course, the mother and daughter duo excluded to talk about their trip to Japan. On the way back to their house, the duo already created a perfect story for Can if he started asking what they did during the weekend. Can, of course, believed them. Overall, the happy, loving, and warm atmosphere in the house once again returned.

The next morning after making breakfast for his family, Can went to the university as usual. The only difference this time was that he has to meet his self-proclaimed master in his office. Can is well aware of this person. Frankly, everyone should know Old Man Khang the moment his name was heard. He is one of the few Tier 6 Rainbow leveled individuals in the world.

The little beast summoner was a little nervous but excited to meet Old Man Khang. Can did not know why such a celebrated person wanted him to become his disciple, because other than the fact that he could form unlimited contracts with beasts, there is nothing else special about him. Surely, he could have picked someone who is way stronger and more special than him. Of course, he would not complain why Old Man Khang chose him. This is actually a perfect opportunity for him to expand his knowledge and learn new things about Beast Summoning from the best master he sort of knew!

Following the directions that were given by his friends, he managed to get in front of the office of his new master on time.

When he was about to knock on the door, a voice from the inside was heard.

"Come in!"

Can was startled but he was sure that it was his new master who just spoke.

When he opened the door, he saw the old man in his seat with a serious expression on his face as he was writing something on a piece of paper on his desk. The first impression that Can had about his new master before meeting him for the first time was that he was a very dignified and honorable figure as opposed to the ridiculous rumors surrounding him. Yet, the moment that he saw him though, he felt that those rumors about him were true. Wearing a wool fedora hat, brown leather jacket, long sleeve tactical shirt, khaki pants, and a whip, he resembled Indiana Jones! 

       

Compared to the other lecturers of the campus who usually wear formal attire in the university, his master definitely looked ridiculous. The rumor about him wearing ridiculous outfits was true! Now he wondered if the other rumors about him were also true.

"What are you staring at? Close the door," the old man said who was almost done with what he was doing.

Can stopped trying to remember about the other rumors about his master as he closed the door.

The old man quickly stole a glance at the little beast summoner then went back to what he was doing earlier after Can turned around to face him.

"Come here quick," Old man Khang demanded.

Can approached the old man, not knowing why he suddenly called him quickly.

The old man took the paper he was working on and showed it to Can.

"What do you think of this art that I just drew?" he asked.

Can was dumbfounded. He thought that his new master was doing something serious, but in reality, he was just drawing a weird symbol. In any case, he still observed the drawing. In the drawing, there were parallel lines and in between those lines was an "X" mark. There was also a zigzag line on each side of those parallel lines.

"I've never seen this kind of symbol before, but it looks interesting," Can answered.

The old man nodded as he placed his artwork on the wall behind him with a piece of tape. Can who was staring at the artwork could not help but label his master as bizarre.

"You probably already know who I am and I already know who you are, so there's no need for an introduction. You just have to know that from now on, I'm your only master. Whatever I tell you to do, you have to do it. I don't want any complaints coming from you. Do you understand Can Rathavit?" the old man said as he faced his new disciple with an authoritative tone. Can felt the sudden change in the atmosphere as his master became serious all of a sudden.

"Yes, I-I understand," Can replied without any hesitation as he stuttered a bit.

"Call me master from now on," the old man said still with a stern voice.

"Yes, master," Can answered as his adam's apple bobbed.

"Haha! Good, now time for our first field trip as a master and disciple!!" the old man said as his sudden tone of voice changed into a playful one. When Can saw this, he could not help but become confused. Was his master playing with him?

"Tao Gunka show yourself!"

(A/N: This is Tao Gunka from Ragnarok Online.)

In an instant, a giant stone totem with four unique faces showed up in the middle of Old Man Khang's office.

Tao Gunka is a legendary beast that could teleport an individual or a group of people in different parts of the world or even dimensions in an instant. This particular beast is considered one of the best miscellaneous beast when it comes to transportation.

Can could not help but admire this legendary beast. Aside from Thanatos, this is the only second time he was able to actually see a legendary beast in person.

Old Man Khang saw the glimmering eyes and admiration of his disciple, so he could not help but feel smug.

He scratched his nose as he said, "Alright, Tao Gunka, teleport the two of us to Phoenix Garden."

Facing his disciple, he warned him about first-time teleportation with Tao Gunka.

"You might feel nauseous since it's your first time teleporting, but you'll be fine."

Before Can could even nod, his surroundings just turned white. The blinding light caused him to close his eyes reflexively. The moment he opened them, he was not in the office anymore, but a huge garden. When he tried to walk forward, he felt nauseous. He felt like vomiting, but thankfully he did not. After a few minutes, he felt better. It definitely did not feel good teleporting.

"HAHA! Don't worry you'll get used to it after a dozen times," Can's master reassured.

Does that mean I will be teleported a lot of times?

"Now, follow me and I'll show you around my precious garden," Master Khang said as he started walking and describing the garden.

Master Khang's Phoenix garden can only be accessed through teleportation by Tao Gunka. The garden covers a huge area of land as far as the eyes could see. This garden is home to different plants of common to even mythic rarities. Since the garden is quite vast, the workers that maintain and nourish the garden are the old man's contracted beasts. Just like Can, Old Man Khang also has the ability to form unlimited contracts with beasts. These workers are also divided from common to legendary rarities. This place could be considered as one of the most valuable places on Earth due to the resources that are found here. Even though this place could only be accessed through Tao Gunka, it was still heavily guarded by several legendary beasts.

As Can started looking around, he could not help but further admire the garden and his master. This magnificent place could not be even compared to the Magic Beast's Garden of the university, which was already considered one of the best source of various plants in the country. It was just astonishing since it would surely took an incredible amount of effort to even build such place and gather all these various plants.

While Can was admiring his master's garden, Old Man Khang was instructing one of the workers to gather a small pouch of Uncommon level seeds of Singing plant. The tiny worker devil type beast called Dokebi immediately nodded and went to the seed storage room to gather the seeds. After getting the seeds and putting them in the pouch, he quickly went back to his master.

"Can," Master Khang called Can as he grabbed the pouch from Dokebi.

The little beast summoner faced his master and saw a pouch flying towards him. Thankfully, he managed to catch the small pouch in time.

"Do you see that vacant plot of land over there?" Master Khang pointed at the direction of the said plot.

"I want you to plant those seeds that are inside that pouch. You used to work in the Magic Beast's garden right?"

Can nodded as he opened the pouch to look at its contents.

"Now go on and start while there's still sun," Master Khang said as he sat on a beach chair next to an opened huge beach umbrella that was set up by two Dokebis. He then wore black sunglasses and fell asleep.

So his master is just going to rest while he does the labor?

Without any complaints, Can walked towards the empty plot of land and started digging. In this world, planting seeds are not as easy as one would think. When a person plants seeds, he or she has to do certain steps to successfully allow the seeds to grow smoothly.

A seed in its initial stage is dormant or asleep. In order to activate it or to wake it up, a person must provide a specific amount of spiritual energy. If the person provides too much or too less, the seed's development into a mature plant could be easily destroyed. This is the reason why it is important for an individual to know what kind of seeds he or she planting. In Can's case, his master did not provide such information.

The planter must also know that the purer the spiritual energy that is being transferred to the seed while activating it, the faster its growth rate and the better its quality could become.

The spiritual energy's purity is affected by a person's state of mind, natural ability, and the core that is the main source of spiritual energy.

Since planting seeds deals with spiritual energy manipulation and precision, it could help with a person's leveling. Master Khang knew that his disciple is at the peak of level Green and about to break through to level Blue, so this could help him level up. This is, of course, not only the reason why he made Can plant those Uncommon level seeds. It is a test.

Master Khang is currently testing Can's spiritual energy's purity and capacity. Through this test, he will be able to determine whether Can is truly gifted and not just another one of those mediocre beast summoners of the university.

Can went on and started sensing the seeds in order to help him identify the amount of spiritual energy they required. Even though he does not know what kind of seeds they are, he has the capability to sense what the individual seed's requirements. When he finished sensing the seeds' requirements, he started pouring a specific amount of spiritual energy in each individual seeds as he placed them in the small holes that he dug earlier. After using all the seeds from the pouch, he covered the seeds with soil. He then proceeded to water the seeds. 

By the time he finished, it was almost 6:00 p.m.! It took Can ten hours to plant all the seeds. Even if that was the case, Can still had half of his spiritual energy, so he did not feel tired at all. After seeing the seeds become small sprouts already, there was this feeling of joy inside of him since he worked really hard today to plant them. Somehow planting felt refreshing and satisfying for him even though he was covered in mud. He wiped the beads of sweat that he had on his forehead with the back of his hands as he went back to meet his master. 

Although Can felt happy and satisfied, his master felt the opposite. During the whole time that he was observing Can, he felt that his disciple's performance was too poor. Uncommon level seeds of the Singing plant should have taken Can a maximum of one hour to activate and plant the seeds. Even an average beast summoner would only take four hours to do it. Since it took him ten hours to plant the seeds, Master Khang at least expected that those seeds turn into mature plants already, but they did not. They were only sprouts.

 Did he overestimate Can?

While contemplating if he should keep Can as his disciple or not, a Dokebi came back running to him as if in a hurry.

"What's wrong?" Master Khang asked as he looked down at the small devil worker.

Dokebi started uttering indistinguishable sounds that Master Khang was able to understand.

"You meant to say that we did not give him the uncommon level seeds but the legendary level seeds of the Heavenly Dark Thunder Fruit?" Master Khang asked to make sure that the Dokebi was not mistaken.

The Dokebi next to him nodded repeatedly.

Master Khang suddenly received a striking and disturbing realization that gave him a moment of chills all over his body.

For Can to only take ten hours to activate those amount of legendary level seeds and even allow them to grow into sprouts are something that even Master Khang himself could not accomplish within a week.

This is truly terrific!

Master Khang could not help it but laugh loudly and obnoxiously. This sudden strange action of the old man did not only make Can feel disturbed but also workers on the field. Their master is truly weird!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this chapter took some time to be released but here ya go! Also,Thank you guys for your comments XD I love reading them especially all of your speculations!


	32. Chapter 29 - How to Appease the Angry Prince

Even though Can is truly gifted and has a great future ahead of him, Master Khang still believes that his disciple has a long journey ahead of him. Right now Can is still weak. If only Master Khang was able to take Can as his disciple much earlier when he was a kid, Can would most likely have been a rainbow level beast summoner by now. Although Old Man Khang regrets not being able to find Can sooner, it was still not too late to properly train and teach him. With his heaven-sent gift, he should be able to level up with much more ease. As long as he properly trains, he will be on the right track.

"Master, I finished planting the seeds." Can, who did not seem to be bothered that he was covered in mud and sweat, approached his master who was already standing up from his seat.

"Good work my disciple!" Master Khang happily and proudly praised Can. He quickly glanced at Dokebi by his side and gestured the small devil to grab the empty pouch from Can's hands.

"Thank you." Can somehow got embarrassed from being praised just for planting some seeds. When he saw Dokebi approaching him, he quickly squatted down to return the pouch, but his sudden action startled the small devil causing him to flinch.

"Sorry, if I startled you." Can regretted scaring Dokebi, so this time he slowly handed the pouch to him. The small devil hurriedly took the pouch and went to hide behind his master's leg. Can could not help but find the little beast's action quite adorable.

"He is not used to strangers." Master Khang chuckled while looking down at the shy beast behind his right leg.

"Since you're going to be here more often, I would recommend that you start knowing my beloved contracted beasts that are working here," he continued. Master Khang crouched down a bit as he encouraged the shy Dokebi to meet Can. At first Dokebi was hesitant, but eventually, he gathered his courage to approach the stranger. When Can saw the small devil beast walking towards him shyly, his mouth started to curve up from pure joy. Can is weak and soft-hearted when it comes to beasts especially the small kind like Gucci for example.

"My name is Can Rathavit. I'm your master's new disciple." Can extended his arm to try to shake the small beast's hands. When Dokebi saw Can extending his arm towards him, he was slightly confused as he tilted his head. He looked back at his master to ask for assistance, but he only got a nod in return. Dokebi decided to put both of his small hands on top of Can's left hand.

"Do-ke-bi," the small beast said as he looked into Can's eyes.

Can looked at his master who smiled in return.

"You two are now friends. Congratulations on making your first friend here," Master Khang as he scratched his nose.

"Alright, let's return to my small villa. Can, you shouldn't go home like this. I don't want anyone to think that I'm mistreating you," he continued as he started walking towards the direction of his villa. Can did not know that his master actually cares about his own image even though there were a lot of rumors surrounding him.

When they entered the villa, Master Khang handed his disciple new clothing before Can took a bath. At first, due to his master's odd sense of fashion, Can thought that the clothes that his master would give him were also odd. Surprisingly, they were decent and new.

The clothes that he wore earlier, which are the expensive clothes that Tin bought, were currently being washed in a washing machine. Since it would take some time to remove the mud stains, his master suggested to just pick them up tomorrow when comes back in the morning.

Before being returned to the university, Master Khang handed Can an Epic grade Summoning Control training manual that is appropriate to his current level. This manual teaches a beast summoner to control a large number of contracted beasts at once like Old Man Khang.

Being able to summon and control a huge amount of contracted beasts at once is not an easy feat. Depending on the rarity of the beast and the capacity of one's spiritual energy core, it could be difficult to have a lot of summoned beasts to be present at the same time. With the training manual, if Can could understand and master its contents, he would be able to summon all of his contracted beasts without his spiritual energy being depleted immediately just like his old master.

"Learn the contents tonight. Tomorrow when you come to my office in the morning, you'll apply what you've learned." After discussing some pointers about the training manual, Master Khang once again called Tao Gunka and transported Can back to the university.

When Can was transported outside Phoenix garden back to the university, it was already dark. It was almost 7:00 p.m. Immediately the phone in his borrowed jeans vibrated from all the notifications that accumulated the whole day. In his master's garden, although there were electricity and technology, there was no reception at all.

After the nausea that he felt was gone, Can took out his phone and saw some of the messages from his friends. As he continued to scroll down, his brows started to furrow when he saw that there were unread messages from Tin. At the same time, most of the missed calls were also from him. There were 30 missed calls! Was there an emergency!?

While he was quickly checking the unread messages, he got a sudden call from Tin.

"Tin? What's the matter?" Can slightly became nervous.

"Where are you?" When he heard Tin's voice, he sounded angry. Why is he angry? Did he do anything wrong?

"I'm in front of the Beast Summoner building," Can quickly answered.

"Stay there."

Before Can could even reply and ask what was wrong, Tin already ended the call.

It did not even take Can a minute to process everything when Tin arrived.

"Why were you not answering your phone? Your last class should've ended at 2:00 p.m.?" Tin asked as he stared at Can's new clothes. Displeasure suddenly took over him.

How does Tin know his class schedule? He never told him about it.

"I was with my master the whole day," Can answered.

"Your master was generous enough to give you new clothes?" Tin was unhappy to see that Can was wearing clothes that were not from him.

"Umm, I was helping out in the garden. My clothes got dirty, so my master gave me a change of clothes." Even if they were from his old master's goodwill, Tin was still unsatisfied.

Seeing that Tin was in a bad mood for some reason, Can tried to change the topic.

"By the way why were you trying to contact me?" he asked.

"I wanted to take you out to eat," Tin said without any hesitation while still slightly displeased. The more that he see Can with those clothes, the more he gets irritated. It does not help that he is still in the process of balancing the blood element that he just recently acquired with other elements inside of him. This particular element, if not controlled completely, could intensify the owner's emotional state. Suddenly, the color of Tin's eyes turned red, but they immediately returned to their natural dark brown color.

"How long have you been waiting for me then?" Can slightly gasped. If Tin was already on campus since 2 p.m., then he has been waiting for him for five hours already!

"Not too long," Tin answered.

Now Can felt bad for Tin.

"Have you eaten?" Can asked.

Tin did not answer, but he shook his head as a reply.

"How about I treat you this time? I know a place that sells cheap but delicious food," Can said as he suddenly became enthusiastic. This time he decided that he will be the one buying things for Tin. Besides, he is craving for the cheap food that he was recommending.

"Okay," Tin replied shortly. Seeing that Can happily wanting to treat him this time, he did not decline his invitation. His displeasure gradually decreased.

The two of them went back to the parking lot and drove to the place that Can directed Tin to go to. When they arrived at the place, Tin parked in one of the parking space inside a building. Before they got out, Tin took out two blue caps and two black face masks. After the competition last week, Tin and Can's popularity exploded. In order not to attract unnecessary attention, they have to hide their faces.

The place that Can suggested was the bustling night market. This is a place filled with a lot of colorful tents standing next to each other. For every tent, there would be different kinds of cheap products such as clothes, accessories, and food that are being offered. Because of this, the night market is usually filled with a lot of people who are looking for a good time and cheap items. For Can, this place could be considered as his favorite spot to spend his money. Since he has been here multiple times, he knew the locations of the most popular food tents and their respective owners. Because he is a regular customer in those food tents, he easily formed a special connection with those owners. So every time he would visit these tents, not only he would get bigger portions of food but he will also get discounts and free food tasting.

Knowing Tin, the filthy rich prince, he has probably never been to this place before. In any case, Can will try his best to give Tin a good time while he is with him.

As the two walked around the night market, Can started babbling about the place as if he was an excited little kid. He showed Tin the most popular and cheapest places in the night market. When he saw that Tin was smiling while listening to him talk, Can thought that he succeeded at making the rich prince interested in the night market. He had no idea that Tin was actually smiling because of him. He is not in any way interested in this filthy and crowded place, but he will tolerate it because Can liked this place.

Finally, the two arrived at the food tent that Can liked the most. The handsome owner, who was in his mid-twenties, easily recognized Can even though he was wearing a mask and a cap. How can he miss his favorite customer? The owner knew what kind of food Can wanted, so he already reserved a portion for him.

"Can! I got the food ready for you," the owner enthusiastically said.

Can was surprised that the owner was able to recognize him even though he was wearing a face mask and a cap. In any case, he still approached the owner happily. As the two started to have a lively conversation, Tin's attitude turned cold as he looked at the owner of the food tent. His eyes once again turned red. Tin tried to calm himself down and control the blood elemental orb that is further intensifying his anger. While doing so, sweat started forming on his forehead as he slightly shook.

"Could I have another order? The same as mine please," Can asked the owner.

"Is this for your boyfriend who came with you?" the owner asked as he teased Can.

Can immediately felt embarrassed.

"No!" he denied as he lowered his head. The owner started laughing. This scene just made Tin's temper worse.

After paying, Can took the two plastic bags that contained Tin and his food. When he returned, Tin took the two plastic bags that Can was holding.

"Oi, Cantaloupe, you forgot your change!" Can immediately turned his head around not seeing that the guy in front of him was already filled with coldness and anger as if he was about to murder someone.

When Can looked back after taking his change from the owner, Tin was nowhere to be found. The little beast summoner got worried all of a sudden, so he quickly went outside to look for him. As he looked from left to right, he saw Tin's figure going to a remote corner. Without any hesitation, Can rushed to the direction where Tin went. When he finally turned to the corner, he saw Tin continuously walking at a faster pace with the two plastic bags.

"Tin! Wait! Walk slowly or the soup is going to spill!" Can said as he started running to catch up to Tin.

"Why did you leave? Are you in a hurry?" Can asked as he went in front of Tin to prevent him from walking.

Thankfully by the time Can catched up to him, Tin somewhat calmed down. The color of his eyes returned to their natural color. When he heard the owner called Can by his real name, it almost caused Tin to lash out at the owner. Of course, he could not let that happen. He did not want to scare Can. He decided to immediately leave the food tent in order to calm himself down and not do something he might regret. In reality though, he really wanted to kill that owner.

"Are you angry with me? I'm sorry for forcing you to come here with me." Can felt bad. Tin probably did not like the night market at all but forced himself to be here because of him.

"Ahh, you're sweating! Come here and I'll wipe it for you. Do you have a handkerchief?" Can was immediately filled with concern after seeing Tin with so much sweat on his face.

Tin did not reply. He was still a little mad.

"You don't have one?" the little beast summoner asked.

"It's in my pocket." Finally, Tin answered, but he refused to look at Can. He might remember that owner from the food tent once again and become angrier.

"Which side?" Can continued.

"Left," Tin slowly looked at Can.

"Left..." Can quickly turned around to see which is the left side in Tin's point of view. After figuring out Tin's left side, he quickly extended his hand to pull the handkerchief from Tin's left pocket.

"Watch your hand," Tin said in a serious tone.

"I am," Can said as he pulled the black handkerchief from Tin's pocket. He then cleaned a part of a concrete cement for Tin to sit down.

Trying to lighten the mood,  Can tried to joke with Tin.

"Please have a seat, rich prince Tin." As he spoke these words, he slightly bowed and gave way for Tin to sit down.

Surprisingly, Tin obeyed as he sat down.

"Come. Your servant will wipe your face, rich prince," Can said as he started wiping the sweat from Tin's face.

"You're so sweaty." At this moment, Can's caring attitude towards Tin made the rich prince's mood better.

"Why are you so angry. We already bought so much food."

Can stopped wiping Tin's face for a second as he speculated why was Tin angry.

"Is that why you are angry? You would've preferred a restaurant that has air conditioning?" Can continued to ask Tin questions as he resumed wiping his majesty's face.

Tin's smile became more apparent as Can became more playful and nicer with him. He could not help but shake his head.

"Are you happy now? That's good." The little beast summoner finally stopped wiping.

"You have to be cheerful when you're with me. I like cheerful people and I'm cheerful! Wah!" Can showed off his cheerful expression with Tin.

"Including that guy?" Tin said as he became serious once again.

"Hmmmm you mean the owner? Yes, the owner is a cheerful person. Even though he gets irritated with me and teases me at times," Can explained.

At this moment, Tin felt like he has to make Can understand how he really feels about him. It might be himself or the blood elemental orb that is stirring his emotions and telling him to confess to Can. In any case, Can has to realize his feelings sooner or later.

"I like you, Can."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, I'm really sorry for this cliffhanger........I'm trying to figure out the different scenarios of how Can should react so I could only release part of the confession. Anyways, you guys are probably already aware but the last part of this chapter is inspired and almost identical to the scene of one of the episodes from L.B.C. Here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmHyFriFa3Y
> 
>  
> 
> Alright, I'll leave you guys with this one for now XD Sorry.....


	33. Chapter 30 - Reunion

(Unedited)

Can froze immediately after hearing Tin's words. Tin likes him? Did he mean that he likes him as a friend? To begin with, Can actually never understood what kind of relationship they have. Was it friends or master/slave or something else? In any case, he thought that Tin's 'like' and his own interpretation of Tin's words were the same.

"We wouldn't be talking if we hated each other right?" Can chuckled a little bit not thinking that Tin was actually serious this time.

Tin could not help it but to close his eyes while he took a deep breath. The guy he liked so much to the point he would murder anyone who would get close to him was this actually dense. Of course, Tin would not give up immediately. Besides, Can's stupidity is part of his charm.

To make this naive beast summoner understand how he actually felt, Tin pulled Can's head with his right hand gently and kissed him on the lips without hesitation. The little beast summoner was caught off guard as he was unable to react quickly at Tin's sudden action. His eyes widened from this sudden surprise yet he did not move or resist him. His heart felt like it stopped beating as his brain stopped processing. The only thing that he could feel and focus on was the warm kiss.

After a few seconds that felt like an eternity for Can but too short for Tin, their lips parted.

"This is what I meant by I like you, Can," Tin replied. He hoped that this time, Can would understand him. If not, he could do other methods that would make the naive boy understand.

Can was still frozen in place. Touching the part of his lips with his fingers, Can tried to figure out if he was actually kissed by Tin.

At that moment, the little beast summoner started contemplating the meaning behind Tin's words more seriously. The more that he thought about it, the more he got confused.

For Tin to like him that way sounds ridiculous to begin with! But thinking about it, these past few weeks, Tin's behavior has been bothering him more lately. At first, he thought that the rich prince was just teasing him just to play and make fun of him. Yet, if Tin was only teasing him, would he go that far and kiss him multiple times? Also, in the very beginning he thought that since he owes Tin his second life, he would be his personal slave and serve him for eternity. He also thought that he was going to be mistreated because of the stupid mistakes that he did back then towards Tin, but the exact opposite happened. Tin would buy him things without asking anything in return. He would treat him with all delicious and expensive food. Overall, Can just never felt mistreated at all. Except for the occasional teasings, Tin was really good to him. So Tin really likes him that way?

Tin seemed to achieve his goal as he sensed that Can was actually using his brain and taking his time to process everything.

After a short moment, Tin slightly raised his eyebrows as he softly and tenderly said, "Do you understand now, Cantaloupe?"

Even though Can is dense, he did understand what Tin meant this time. He just could not believe that Tin felt this way towards him. It is just surreal!

"I understand," Can answered as he looked down.

"Good," Tin continued. He did not ask Can how he feels about him since he knew that Can is still trying to figure out his feelings. There was no need to rush him for an answer. As long as he knows how he feels, it was good enough, for now at least. Still, it did not stop him from stating the things he dislikes.

"I like you, so I'm unhappy seeing you with other guys, especially that owner of that food tent." Tin's voice had a trace of dissatisfaction and jealousy.

"But that's just the owner of the food tent. I'm just a regular customer." Can was a little shocked about Tin's statement about his friend. The owner only treats him like his little brother. That is the only kind of relationship the two have, so what is with Tin's dissatisfaction all of a sudden?

"...." Tin did not continue his complaints further since it might just make him angrier.

Meanwhile, Can continued sorting out his feelings. As he tried to process how he felt after Tin's confession, his brain started showing signs of overheating from the confusion that he felt.

"Here." Tin handed the plastic bag that has Can's food.

When he saw that one of his favorite food was being handed to him, Can immediately stopped thinking and worrying about the confession and his feelings. He put those thoughts behind his head for now. In any case, Tin did not seem to continue asking him about his feelings towards him. Right now, Can is hungry and his brain stopped working. Food is the only thing that matters to him at this very moment.

As Can started eating, Tin was thinking whether he should try the food that was made by the owner of that food tent. Because Can was enjoying the food, Tin decided to try it also. He wanted to know what is so good about it. After taking the first bite, Tin just shook his head from disappointment. The food was not even that good. Surely, the five-star restaurants that he owns are much better than this pile of trash. He looked at Can who was almost done with the soup that he ordered. If the only reason why Can goes to that trashy place was for food, then Tin will make sure that he would feed him with the best kind only. By doing so, Can's taste for food would be of a higher standard. When that happens, then Can would not go back to this trash of a place anymore. Also, Tin has started sharpening his cooking skills with the help of one of the best-renowned chefs in the country. When his cooking is up to a higher standard, then he can also cook for Can. His food would be way better than that food tent owner's food.This is only part of his long-term plan for Can. He wants Can to depend on him so much that he would not be able to live in the future without him.

After finishing eating his portion of food, Tin offered him his portion. The little beast summoner did not decline his offer and finished his food. When the two finished, Tin took Can back to his home.

On their way back, Can continued to read the Epic level training manual that his master gave him. Thankfully, the contents of the manual were not a lot. Although reading the contents were easy, understanding them was quite difficult.

"I'll take you to school tomorrow morning," Tin interrupted Can.

"You don't have to do that." Can quickly looked up to Tin.

"I want to do it," he continued. Tin will not take 'no' as an answer.

"Oh...alright then." Can agreed since he could not argue with Tin. He needed to study anyways.

Can refocused his attention on the training manual.

The little beast summoner did not know that his simple agreement with Tin would cause a commotion tomorrow.

When they finally arrived in front of Can's small house, Tin did not do any weird actions towards Can when they separated. He just let him go back to his house and reminded him once again about taking him to the university in the morning. That night, Can focused on understanding the contents of the training manual.

When morning arrived, Tin was already waiting for Can in front of his house gate. Can stayed up late the previous night, because he was trying to master and absorb the techniques of the training manual. He did not have enough sleep and his spiritual energy was depleted quite a bit, so he was exhausted and sleepy. Dark circles under his eyes became evident.

Tin who saw Can's tired expression furrowed his brows.

"You should get some rest," Tin suggested as Can went inside his car.

"No, I can't. I have to meet my master," Can responded as he tried to force himself not to fall asleep.

Tin could not help it but click his tongue with dissatisfaction. He cannot do anything about Can's situation. He knew that he has been working really hard with his current assignment. It is just that he did not like the fact that Can has to suffer.

As soon as Tin started driving, Can could not fight the urge to fall asleep any longer. As he closed his eyes, his head tilted towards the left where Tin is currently seated. Tin who saw that Can was about to fall from his seat, grabbed his neck and put him back in his seat securely. The two of them was in this position until Tin arrived at the university's parking space.

Before he woke up Can, Tin focused his gaze on the boy's sleeping face. With his right thumb, while still holding Can's face in place, he caressed the small boy's right cheek. It was quite soft and smooth. Taking the advantage that the fact Can was asleep, Tin then proceeded to pinch the boy's cheek which left a small red spot on it.

Knowing that Tin could transfer spiritual energy to Can without any problems, he started pouring his spiritual energy to the little boy with his hand that was still caressing the boy's cheeks.

"Warm," Can whispered while he was still asleep. Unconsciously, the little beast summoner held Tin's hand securely on his face using both of his hands. Eyes still closed, the expression of his face quickly changed into a happy one.

When Tin saw Can's unconscious reaction, he had the uncontrollable urge to kiss him. He was about to lean forward to give the defenseless sleeping boy in front of him a sweet kiss when the boy suddenly woke up.

As Can woke up, the first thing he noticed was the hand that he was holding. Realizing that it was Tin's hand, he immediately let go of his hand as he started to blush. Why was he holding his hand!?

"You seemed to have a good nap. You even started to sleep talk," Tin said as he smirked. It was still early in the morning and Tin already started teasing Can.

"I-I was talking? What did I say?" Can knew that he has this unnatural habit of talking while sleeping. His family already complained about it many times.

"You mentioned how badly you wanted to be with me in bed and do a lot of fun things." Tin shamelessly said those lies to see how Can would react.

"What!? I wouldn't say those words!" Can further blushed as he tried to deny Tin's accusations. He was so sure that he would not say those things in his sleep at all!

Seeing the flustered reaction of the boy, Tin started laughing.

"I knew it! You were just making fun of me!"

"Alright, let's go and meet your master." Tin's laughter decreased into a chuckle as he got out of the car.

Can could only pout after he got out of the car. One of these days, he will be the one making fun of Tin.

As the two started walking, the little beast summoner realized that he felt more energized. Earlier he was too tired and sleepy. He only took a quick nap and now he was already fine! It also seemed that he regained more than half of his spiritual energy! This is what you really call a "power nap"! The only problem that he had was that he did not have breakfast, because he was in a hurry and was too tired to cook. His stomach started grumbling as it tells its owner to feed it.  Can immediately tried to cover his stomach with both of his hands to hide the grumbling noise, but it was useless. The person next to him noticed the noise coming from his stomach.

"Let's go get food from the cafeteria before meeting your master," Tin said as he walked towards the direction of the cafeteria. Since he was hungry, Can could not refute his request and proceeded to follow him.

After eating breakfast, the two went straight to Master Khang's office. As the two entered, Master Khang was already waiting inside tapping his fingers on his table. He was thinking about why his disciple was late. Now he knows.

"Is this the reason why my disciple is late?" Master Khang asked with displeasure as he started scrutinizing Tin. The old man knew Tin. He also knew that his disciple and this man were in that kind of relationship. He did not mind it, but if their relationship will affect Can's training then he would be displeased. Can already wasted a lot of time not being able to enhance his skills so Master Khang could not afford to waste any more time.

"So Can's new master is this old fart?" asked by Tin's grandfather as he woke up from the sudden familiar voice that he heard.

Master Khang seemed to hear what Tin's grandfather said.

"I could sense that your grandfather is here." The old man started to focus his gaze on Tin's necklace.

"I'm impressed that this old fart could sense me," grandfather Phiravich said as he continued to make fun of Master Khang.

"You're already dead yet you still spout nonsense. Hmph!" the old man who was wearing a green military uniform this time retorted.

"You're still alive, but your sense of style is still ridiculous! Hah! What's with this costume that you're wearing today?" Tin's grandfather said as his voice became livelier.

"YOU!!! At least I'm not trapped in some necklace!" Master Khang continued to argue.

The two old nemesis-turned-friends started their childish arguments once again. Back then when the two friends would meet in person, they would always start their conversation with this kind of childish argument. People who surrounded them would always facepalm and shake their heads in discontent. How can some of the most powerful and respectable figures in this world be this childish every time they would meet?

Even though they have not seen each other for several years, the first thing that they did for their reunion was fight instead of reminiscing the past. Sparks of lightning started to show as they glared at one another.

(A/N: This is what I meant by sparks of lightning XD)

When Master Khang heard that this old friend died several years ago, he was not too emotional about it. He learned way before that his spirit and consciousness were transferred into a necklace by his own son. He wanted to visit his old friend, but Tri's attitude towards B.S.G and beast summoners changed for the worse, so he was unable to. Now hearing his old friend talk and still acting the same, he was glad. Also, since Tin has the necklace now, he should be able to visit him from time to time.

As the two were bickering with one another, Can started to worry. At first, he was not sure whom his master was talking to, but then he just found out right now that the necklace that Tin was wearing contains his grandfather's spirit. The only thing that he did not know was that the argument between the two was natural and not too serious. Tin knew how the two old men interact since he had seen them together before when he was a kid.

"Ehem." Tin purposely coughed in order to interrupt and stop the two from their pointless argument. Thankfully, the two realized the meaning behind Tin's gesture, so they decided to stop.

Clearing his throat, Master Khang asked why is Tin with his disciple.

"What time will his training end today?" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I'm back. Hmm this chapter, I had to rewrite some parts cuz I was not completely satisfied so it took me some time to finish it. Also, I'm trying to keep my interpretation of Can's reaction to be similar and not too far off from Can in the original series. As much as possible I don't want him to completely divert from the original Can. Not sure if I'm successful. Just tell me if you ain't satisfied and we'll work around it XD For now here you go!
> 
> I can't believe that I just finished Chapter 30! XD Welp, more to come!


	34. Chapter 31 - Blood Spell

(Unedited)

Master Khang just stared at Tin while he tried to figure out the meaning behind the young man's question. He then went back to look at his disciple who seemed to be confused on why Tin would ask that question. Do they have a date today?

"It depends on how well he performs today," Old Man Khang answered as he scratched his nose. He gave his disciple a training manual that is difficult to master, so he will not be expecting any grand performance today. Besides, he only gave his disciple one day to learn the contents of the training manual. Even if he is a gifted child, he will not be able to easily learn everything. Still, Can might do something that would surprise him like yesterday.

"I understand, thank you," Tin shortly replied to Master Khang as he faced Can.

He patted the little beast summoner's soft hair gently with a smile on his face.

"Contact me after you finish," he continued as he reminded the boy in front of him.

Can quickly nodded.

"Good." After getting the confirmation from Can, Tin took his leave. Before he left, his grandfather and Master Khang talked a little bit more and concluded with the two meeting some other time in the future.

"Alright, my disciple! We'll begin our official training today. Are you ready?" Master Khang raised his voice enthusiastically as he pointed at Can.

"Y-yes!" Can unconsciously saluted his master who was in the military uniform. When he realized what he did, he got embarrassed. He knew that his master is not an actual soldier. He just likes wearing different costumes every day! Now he is becoming weird just like his master!

"Good job soldier! Now let's teleport back to Phoenix Garden!" Master Khang saluted back to Can before he called Tao Gunka to teleport the two of them to Phoenix Garden.

At the garden, they were greeted by Dokebi who was also wearing a small military uniform with small sunglasses too! Can found it ridiculous but at the same time adorable. He wondered how Gucci would look like in that kind of military uniform. When he thought about it, Gucci would just look ridiculous, so he dismissed the idea immediately.

Dokebi directed the master and disciple duo to the training field. The little devil was tasked earlier by his master to prepare the training field that was located not far from the small villa.

After they arrived at the training field, which was actually at the top of a small hill, Master Khang started Can's training.

"Now, I want you to show me what you've learned so far from the training manual I handed to you," the old man instructed as he put both of his hands behind his back.

"I want you to summon all of your contracted beasts at once and try to keep them here as long as you can," the old man continued. Aside from seeing how Can could handle the pressure of summoning all of his contracted beasts at once, he was also curious about his beasts' development. He already investigated Can beforehand. According to the report that he got, Can has five contracted beasts in total. It would have been six if it were not for that incident when he was a kid. (Refer to Ch. 6 towards the end when Tin recalled Can's memories.)

Can followed his master's order. He started to become nervous because if his spiritual energy becomes fully drained after summoning all of his contracted beasts, he could die. Finding a way to calm down and look for inspiration for courage, he remembered Tin. Back in Tin's mansion, he witnessed how Tin went through the trial to become stronger. If Tin could risk his life to become stronger so can he! With the newfound courage and inspiration, Can took a deep breath and started summoning his contracted beasts.

He recollected the spiritual energy that was spread out around his body and concentrated them back to his spiritual energy core. Afterwards, he started summoning his contracted beasts one by one. As he called each one, his spiritual energy in his core started decreasing rapidly. The pressure on his core and body also increased. This pressure can be compared to a piece of rock. Each rock represents a contracted beast that needs to be carried by a beast summoner. Depending on the rarity of the beast, the rock could weigh less or more. The higher the rarity, the larger the rock and vice versa.

At first, Can summoned the Uncommon beast that he contracted when he was a child: Vocal. This Uncommon beast is a defensive insect beast that specialized in allowing its enemies to fall into sleep after listening to its music.

(A/N: This is a picture of Rocker from Ragnarok Online. I used Vocal instead of Rocker cuz it sounds cooler.)

Next, Can summoned a Rare possessive beast: Mysteltainn. This rare type of beast has the ability to possess an object to increase its strength. The sword that it possessed was found by pure luck somewhere in the beasts' dimension where all the beasts lived. No one knows whose sword it was and no one tried to reclaim it.

(A/N: This is Mysteltainn from Ragnarok Online.)

As Can continued to summon Beholder, Gucci, and Valkyrie Randgris, the consumption of spiritual energy and pressure started to gradually increase. Now Can feels like he is carrying a huge boulder. His body started shaking and sweat formed on his body. He gritted his teeth as he tried to withstand the pressure. When he tried to move, he could not move at all. He was stuck in place. His spiritual energy is now decreasing at an alarming rate. All of his summoned beasts who looked at him became concerned. (A/N: Beholder's information can be found on Ch.3.)

Gucci, who just transformed and developed into a semi-mature beast, was the first one to express his concern to his master.

"Kyuuuuuu!" ("Master! You can do this!" )

The rest followed Gucci and cheered their master to boost his morale.

Taking a deep breath, Can recalled the contents of the training manual. The trick that the manual taught him is to gather spiritual energy from the surrounding. Through this method, Can could mitigate the amount of spiritual energy that he is losing and the pressure that he is getting. In short, the more that he could absorb spiritual energy, the better. If he could have a higher rate of spiritual absorption than the rate of his spiritual energy decreasing, then it would be even better!

As he replicated the techniques from the manual, he tried to gather the spiritual energy from his surroundings. Last night, he made sure that he could replicate the techniques, so he practiced outside with his contracted beasts. It took some time, but he was successful at gathering enough spiritual energy to mitigate the negative effects of summoning his beasts.

Right now when he was trying to gather spiritual energy on his surroundings, there was little to none! This realization quickly made him panic.

Seeing Can's reaction, Master Khang was filled with an evil smile. This specific training area only held a small amount of spiritual energy. The reason why Master Khang chose this place was that he wanted to see how long his disciple can endure such harsh condition. Also, he wanted to know if Can could come up with a plan to fix this shortage of natural spiritual energy at all. Now, this is the real first training for Can.

Realizing that he would not be able to gather enough spiritual energy in this place, Can was now in danger of collapsing at any time. He was on the verge of depleting his entire spiritual energy in his core. Suddenly, an idea came to his mind. The only nearby source of abundant spiritual energy is his master. He looked at his master with a pained expression. Old Man Khang thought that Can was about to give up, but then he saw that his disciple was once again replicating the techniques from the manual. He could not help it but close his eyes as he shook his head. It is futile.

All of a sudden, Master Khang felt like his spiritual energy is being extracted from him. When he opened his eyes, strings of faint blue light started to come out of his body and are going towards Can. His disciple is absorbing his own master's spiritual energy! Can does not stop from surprising his master.

Although not impossible, absorbing a person's spiritual energy is quite difficult and dangerous. If the person absorbing the energy is not compatible with the other person, it could damage his or her body. For his disciple to risk his life to absorb his master's spiritual energy, Can is truly an audacious young man.

Master Khang did not stop Can from absorbing his spiritual energy. He wanted to see how Can's body will react. Interestingly, there was no rejection. Can was able to absorb the energy without any problem.

Since his source of spiritual energy is a tier 6 rainbow level beast summoner, Can immediately mitigated all the negative effects quite easily. His muscles finally relaxed and could freely move with ease. There was no pressure at all; his spiritual core is full. Overall, he feels light.

"Not bad," Master Khang said with satisfaction that could be seen on his face.

He approached his disciple who was still absorbing his spiritual energy.

"But." Before he could finish his sentence, Master Khang hit Can's head with his fist.

Can immediately hissed in pain as he covered his head with both of his hands.

"Who told you that you could just absorb someone's spiritual energy hmm? It could've damaged your body." the old man scolded Can.

"But master gave me no choice!" Can retorted as he caressed the part of his head that got hit.

"I gave you no choice? You had the choice to give up," he once again slapped his disciple's head but Can manage to dodge this time.

"I didn't want to give up. I don't want that choice at all! Not anymore!" Can complained as he stood his ground.

His master had flashbacks as he saw himself in Can. He could not help but sigh and laugh. He was naive back then just like Can.

"Alright, I get it." With Can's stubborn attitude, it would be hard to change his thoughts immediately.

Master Khang continued assessing Can's performance while also giving him new pointers. After their discussion, Master Khang examined his contracted beasts. Unfortunately, he was not too impressed with his current group of contracted beasts.

According to Can's master, Gucci was too spoiled and too carefree. Valkyrie seemed to be dealing with personal issues that were affecting her performance. Beholder is too small to even carry a person to his or her destination. Mysteltainn seemed to be having a problem with its control of the sword. Vocal's music is irritating rather than pleasing to the ears. How can it make someone fall asleep?

Hearing the criticism from his master, he felt like several knives of hurtful truth stabbed him which is causing him to bleed to death. His master made him feel that he was a failure as a beast summoner. The contracted beasts who heard the criticism immediately put Master Khang at the top of their "most hated person" list. Their eyes started to burn in hatred as they looked at Can's master. The old man, of course, did not mind them. What could these weaklings do against him?

"Can, tomorrow you will train with your contracted beast. You're dismissed." Master Khang reminded Can.

"Yes, master," Can answered as he stopped absorbing his master's spiritual energy. One by one he returned his summoned beast back to their own world.

"I'll transfer you back to the villa so you could get your clothes from yesterday," the old man said as he summoned Tao Gunka.

"After you get your clothes, just tell Tao Gunka to transfer you back to the university," he continued.

"Thank you master, I'll see you tomorrow."

Master Khang gestured Tao Gunka to teleport Can back to the villa. When they arrived at the villa, Can took his expensive clothes that were washed and dried yesterday. Before he left, Can became really thirsty. Seeing that there was a wooden jug with clear liquid inside, Can thought it was plain water. Getting a cup from his master's kitchen, he pours himself the liquid that he thought was water. When he drank it, the taste was different. It was rather sweet. Can thought that it was just specialized water. After drinking from the cup, he turned to Tao Gunka and asked him to teleport him back to the university.

When Can returned in front of the Beast Summoner building, he felt nauseous once again. He thought it was because of the teleportation but in reality, he was nauseous because he was drunk! The liquid that he drank was not water, but it was a strong alcohol!

As soon as Can tried to walk, he immediately fell. When he fell forward, his right hand got scraped against the rough ground, so it bled. Can did not seem to notice that he was bleeding as he got up from the ground. His face was red as a tomato; his actions became similar to a drunk person.

Can took his phone and dialed the number of the first person that came to his mind: Tin.

"TIN! Hehe...I'm done. Pick me up, you rich bastard!" Can who was drunk started spouting at Tin. On the other side of the phone, Tin already figured out Can's current state.

"Stay there." Without wasting any more time, he immediately went to go to find Can.

"Alright, I'll wait for you here, you pervert," Can said as he continued to chuckle.

It was not even a minute when Tin arrived in front of the Beast Summoner building and found Can.

"Aiya, you're here so fast! hehe...," the drunk little beast summoner started to walk towards Tin, but as soon as he made his first step forward, his legs became uncontrollable and wobbly. He fell once again, but this time, he was caught by Tin.

Can, who was currently being embraced by Tin, moved his head up and looked into his eyes. With his right hand that was filled with blood, Can caressed Tin's cheeks.

"I like you too, Tin! hehe," After saying those words, Can lost consciousness and fell asleep.

Tin was frozen in place. He did not know whether he should believe the words that came out from a drunk Can or not. Although they could be true, Tin wanted to hear it from Can when he is actually sober. Still, it made him happy since Can said it.

As the smell of Can's blood started to invade Tin's nostrils, the blood element inside his body started to react. As if being possessed by another person, Tin's attitude change. When his eyes turned red, his concerned attitude change into serious lust.

The blood that was smeared on his cheeks as it dripped down to his lips was licked. The red-eyed man did not stop there. Grabbing the bleeding right hand of the unconscious boy, Tin started licking and sucking the blood out of it.

_"Blood Pact"_

Blood Pact is a spell that allows elementalists to use the blood essence of their victims to locate them wherever they might be as long as they are both in the same world or dimension.

With Can's blood mixing with Tin, the Blood Pact has now been officially established between the two.

Tin would now be able to locate wherever Can would go.

"Now, there's no way for you to hide from me, Can."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, here ya go. Tomorrow will be the last chapter for this week. My Spring Break is almost over so I'll go back to weekly updates.
> 
> For future reference, do you guys mind having sexual scenes or R18 scenes?
> 
> Imma sleep bye!


	35. Bonus Chapter 2: Can's Nightmare (Explicit)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains R18 stuff....you've been warned. Now enjoy! XD

Can woke up that morning with a headache. When he got up, his head started throbbing in slight pain. What happened to him!?

The last thing that he remembered was that he was in his master's villa to pick up his clothes. He then got thirsty, so he drank some sweet water. Then he was teleported back in front of the Beast Summoner Building. Then...what happened after that?

Can then realized something was not right. When he looked around at his surroundings, the room that he was in was not his! He was not in his own bedroom! The king size bed that he slept in was too comfortable and looked too expensive to be his own bed. The decorations in the room were too foreign to him. The room is just too big and too extravagant. Where is he!?

As he was trying to figure out where he was, a voice of a girl from the outside echoed to his room.

"Mommy! Mommy! I'm hungry. I want breakfast!" Can heard it and he was confused. Whose child is it outside?

       

(A/N: Uggh this girl is so cute. I don't own the picture btw.)

The slightly opened door became wide open all of a sudden by a small girl who seemed to be at least four years old.

"Mommy!" a small girl wearing a pink dress ran towards to Can who was still in bed.

"Mommy? Is this little girl referring to me? Am I dreaming?" Can asked himself.

The girl who was barefoot jumped to the bed and embraced Can.

"Mommy, I'm hungry," the girl said in an adorable manner.

Can was in shock. He must be dreaming or is this some prank? There is no way that he has a daughter.

The little girl looked at her parent who seemed to be in a daze. She waved her hand in front of Can's face to get his attention, but she failed. Holding Can's cheeks with both of her small warm hands she said, "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

Can regained his focus as he stared at his 'daughter.' Looking at her eyes, Can felt a sense of familiarity. Her small delicate face looked familiar too. She looks so similar to him! But there is no way he could have a daughter!

At this point, Can thought that he must really be in a dream. If this is the case, then he will just need to wake up from this dream, but how will he do that?

While thinking of how to wake up from this dream, the little girl's stomach started grumbling. Can looked at the little girl who was touching her tummy with a sad face. Seeing that she was really hungry, Can felt bad. He finally decided to play the role of a mother and cook for her.

He questioned himself why he is called 'mommy' in this dream when he is a guy. Yet even though he was curious, he did not ask his 'daughter.' What's important is how he will wake up.

Holding the little girl carefully with his two hands, Can got out of his bed and went to find the kitchen. Before he went out, he asked his daughter about his father.

"Daddy took older brother to school then went to work. He said not to disturb mommy in the morning, but I'm hungry," the little girl explained.

Can was amazed. He has another child? This is truly astonishing.

"I see," Can answered. As soon as he went out of the room, the surrounding became familiar to him all of a sudden.

"That is Tin's kitchen.....I'm in Tin's mansion?" Can whispered to himself. He was confused all of a sudden.

His daughter heard the first part of what he said.

"What about daddy's kitchen? It's right there mommy." The little girl pointed at the direction of their kitchen. She thought that her mom is acting weird.

Can just looked at his daughter with his eyes and mouth wide open. He could not believe what he just heard. There is no way Tin is the father of his kids in this dream?

"This is only a dream Can, so calm down! Nothing here is real!" Can told himself.

Composing himself, Can walked towards the kitchen.

He placed her daughter on one of the seats of the dining table.

"What do you want to eat for breakfast?" he asked his daughter with a smile on his face. He might as well pretend to be an actual parent while he is at it.

Can had experience babysitting children before. His aunt, who lives next door, has two children. When she has to go to work, she would ask his mom to babysit them. Usually, it was him who would end up taking care of the two kids. Also, he has experience taking care of a troublesome kid like Gucci.

"I want ham and cheese hot pockets!" the little girl excitedly blurted out her favorite meal of the day. Can could not help it but chuckle. His daughter likes the food that Tin likes.

"That's too early for breakfast. It will also take some time to make," Can said tenderly as he stroke his daughter's soft hair gently.

"I can wait!" the little girl said with a smile on her face. She really wants to eat her mother's hot pockets.

"But you're really hungry...," Can tried to convince his daughter to wait until lunch to eat those hot pockets that she wants.

"How about I'll help mommy make them? It's going to be faster!" the little girl insisted.

In Can's judgment, this little girl would not take 'no' for an answer. She has a similar personality like Tin. He could only sigh in defeat.

"Alright, how about you help me make some dough?" Can asked his daughter as he patted her head.

"Okay!" The child cheerfully and excitedly clapped.

Can held her kid who in returned embraced his neck. He then placed her on the top of the kitchen table. Getting all the necessary ingredients to prepare his special ham and cheese hot pockets, the two started cooking. Can patiently and enthusiastically taught her daughter how to make a proper pastry dough. During the entire process of creating hot pockets, there was a lot of laughter that can be heard in the kitchen. Although the two made a mess in the kitchen mostly because of the little girl's naughtiness, they were able to finish the things they needed to do. In the end, there was a batch of perfectly cooked hot pockets and a batch of burnt ones. By the time they finished, it was already lunchtime. Can thought that time passes by really fast when you are having fun. He did have fun cooking with his daughter.

After cooking, Can placed his daughter back to one of the seats by the dining table. He put the perfectly cooked hot pockets on the table and gestured his daughter to eat. The little girl immediately grabbed two hot pockets and took a bite on each one.

"Eat slowly, there's still a lot on the plate," he said as he put a glass of water on the table. Seeing that his daughter is eating more carefully, Can went back to the kitchen table and started cleaning.

While he was cleaning, the door to the mansion was opened. The little boy who was a little taller than Can's daughter entered and went straight to the kitchen when he smelled the fragrance of the hot pockets.

"Mommy! I want some hot pockets too!" the little boy with a backpack who suddenly appeared loudly demanded as he embraced Can. This little boy must be Can's other child. The boy's facial feature has a mixture of his and Tin's look. He was shocked and amazed at the same time when he saw his other child.

(A/N: Another cute kid I saw on Instagram. He was the one that the fans were referring to as MeanPlan's child. I don't own the picture.)

"You already finished school?" Can asked as he resumed the role of a mother. He took one of the warm hot pockets that were on the kitchen table to his other child.

The little boy nodded as he took the hot pockets from his mother's hand.

"We only have school until noon today. Dad took me home." The boy took a huge bite on the hot pocket.

"Dad...Tin?" Can asked his son. If Tin took him home then that means, he is here too. Thinking about it, Can became nervous. How is he going to face him? How is he supposed to act around Tin?

"Umm yes. He just parked the car. He should be here in a bit." The little boy answered.

Knowing that he would be here any minute, Can's heart started to beat faster.

"Mom, you're acting weird. Are you ok?" the little boy asked as his eyebrows furrowed due to his curiosity.

"Yes, I'm ok!" Can replied as he put a nervous smile.

His son shrugged as he proceeded to sit down next to his little sister to eat more hot pockets.

As more seconds passed by, the more nervous Can became. He tried to calm himself down as he resumed wiping the kitchen table. As he became too focused on cleaning, he did not notice the man he was nervous about was behind him already.

"You seem a little tense," the man behind Can whispered as he slowly wrapped his arms around him. The man's deep and seductive voice that traveled to Can's left ear caused an immediate shivering effect on the wife's entire body. Can's heart started to beat faster uncontrollably as his breathing became irregular. His face became red like a tomato.

"Did our daughter gave you a hard time? I told her not to disturb you because I know how tired you were from last night," Tin continued using his seductive voice as a smirk on his face became visible.

Can tried to remember what happened last night, but he could not recall anything at all. What happened last night?

"N-no, it's fine. I don't mind," Can answered nervously. His nervousness was immediately detected by Tin.

"Why so tense then?" Tin asked as he started becoming more intimate. He started nibbling Can's reddening left ear as his hardening member was rubbed against Can's buttocks.

Can did not know how to react so he resumed wiping the table once more. What's with Tin right now? It so early for him to be this horny! Besides, there are kids in front of them! How can he be this indecent!

"I-I'm a little tired th-that's all." Can started stuttering with his answer as his mind went into disarray. He tried to figure out why everything seemed so real all of a sudden.

"Then how about I give my wife a massage in our room." Tin slowly inserted his right hand inside Can's shirt which touched the delicate skin of the boy. The sudden intrusion of Tin's rough hand made Can gasp loudly.

"AH!" Can uttered as he immediately closed his mouth with both of his hands. The two kids who were eating the hot pockets suddenly looked at their mother.

"Mommy is being weird again!" the little boy said as he went back to eat.

"Your mom's a little tired that's all," Can replied as he tried to calm himself down once again. He took a deep breath then gathered the courage to glare at Tin.

"Not in front of the kids!" Can whispered as he complained. He immediately used this excuse to escape from Tin as he checked and approached his kids.

Failing at his advances, Tin felt disappointed. Yet being married to Can for several years already, Tin knew some tricks on how to subdue his wife.

That night when the kids were asleep peacefully in their room, Can went straight to his bed where he lay in the morning. Throughout the day, he wondered why he has not woken up in real life yet. Was it because the time in his dream is different in reality? In any case, he actually felt tired today so he wanted to go to sleep. He thought that he might wake up after tonight so he was not too worried.

As he was about to go to sleep, he heard the creaking of the door as it opened. Can immediately opened his eyes and became alert. After a few moments, he heard the door creak once again as it closed. He then heard a clicking sound from the doorknob, indicating that it has been locked.

Before Can could move to check who it was, he was already embraced from behind.

"The kids are asleep now, how about we continue where we left off," Tin whispered to Can's right ear as he started licking the exterior of his ear.

Can unconsciously gasped and immediately covered his mouth to prevent it from making more sexual noises. He noticed that Tin would always start teasing him by playing with his ears. Every time he would whisper or do these kinds of things to him, Can would always react. He realized that his ears are his weak spots.

Can was thinking whether he should shove Tin away from him or not. He never had sex before and doing it intimidated him. He decided he did not want it! Yet before Can thought of shoving Tin away, he realized that this was only a dream. Even though he was still a little hesitant, he thought that trying sex for the first time in his somehow realistic dream should be the perfect way to experience it? In any case, this might help him determine if he liked Tin or not.

Since it is like this, Can finally decided to let Tin continue. Since he already knew his fate in this relationship, he prepared himself mentally. He took a deep breath and tried to relax. Sensing that Can did not refuse him, Tin continued his advances.

Tin went on top of Can and initiated a passionate kissing session. He started kissing his forehead then each side of Can's cheeks, then finally sealing his lips. As he slowly removed the buttons of his shirt, he kissed Can deeper with his tongue invading the other's mouth without getting any sort of resistance. As his tongue explored his lover's mouth, Can tried to also have a taste of the other man, so he sought the other tongue with his. As the two tongues clashed in passion as they became entangled and their saliva mixing together, moans that tried to come out of Can's mouth became suppressed.

Not thinking straight anymore as lust took over both of the men's minds, their actions became rougher. Can wrapped both of his arms around Tin's neck locking them together. Tin whose toned chest was already exposed, proceeded to take off Can's shirt. He quickly grab the hem of Can's shirt and pulled it off from its owner who obediently obliged. The two took this opportunity to catch their breath.

"Now it's your turn to remove the rest," Tin whispered as his eyes, filled with desire and lust, stared at his beloved.

Can, who was charmed by those eyes, immediately obeyed. He hurriedly removed the button that kept Tin's pants together and unzipped it. Now that the only thing that was left on Tin was a thin layer of fabric that contains his hardened member. It was in a hurry to be unleashed.

Can did not waste any more time and pulled down Tin's brief. Tin's exposed and erect manhood made Can's eyes widened in amazement. It was huge! This did not stop Can from wanting it, but it rather ignited his lust further.

Holding his man's hardened part with both of his hands, he started teasing Tin by kissing and licking the tip. Heavy breathes from Tin came out as he caressed Can's head. When he looked down to see his wife's indecent but seductive act, it made him want to devour him whole. Yet this form of lovely torture is like an appetizer before the main course. One should not rush and just let things flow on their own.

After some moments, Can took off the rest of his clothes where his hardened part and buttocks were exposed. Becoming a little impatient, Can first tried to measure his lover's penis by licking the tip until he reached the base of the shaft. A trail of warm and wet saliva was left on the area that was licked. Now becoming bolder, he put Tin's pulsating manhood in his mouth slowly. He let his tongue explore and taste the warm rod that is full of manliness and ravaging energy. Feeling that he was not getting enough taste of the whole thing, Can selfishly went deeper but unfortunately, he gagged. It was just too long for him to have.

"Don't worry my wife, there's another method that we could use for you to feel it inside you," Tin reassured as he proceeded to push Can back to bed.

Starting from the top, Tin slowly worked his way down as he kissed every part of Can's body. He then started playing with Can's already perked up red nipples. He pinched both of them with his rough fingers which sent sudden exciting electricity to Can's already shivering body. Tin then let his mouth taste the two tempting nubs as he gently nibbled and licked them. After savoring them, he continued to explore down still not missing to kiss Can's small body.

Now, it is time for the main course. When Tin reached Can's lower body, he repaid his wife's services by doing the same thing. He held Can's hardened part and an up and down jerking motion was delivered repeatedly. Moans of pleasure instantly came out of Can who tried to suppress it but failed. Tin then proceeded to put Can's penis inside his mouth and sucked it as its juices started to leak out. Both of Can's fingers and toes curled up from the intense pleasure he was receiving from his lover. Not wanting for Can to cum too easily, Tin had to stop.

Tin flipped his lover, so that Can's buttocks was facing him. Licking his lips with his tongue, he put his index and middle finger of his right hand in his mouth. The saliva that covered these fingers will be used as a lubricant. Spreading one of Can's butt cheek with the other hand, Tin inserted the saliva-covered index finger inside Can's opening. Since they have done sex multiple times, Can's opening was already used to this kind of probing. 

Knowing the location of Can's good spot, Tin immediately looked for it. As soon as he located it, Can immediately let out another moan as he grabbed a pillow to prevent himself from becoming too loud due to a more pleasurable experience. Using the middle finger along the index finger, Tin's movement of his right hand became rougher and faster as it explored Can's opening. From time to time, he would spread his two fingers to stretch Can's hole. For every time Tin would hit Can's good spot, it would be exchanged with muffled moans.

Feeling that Can was ready, Tin removed his fingers from the opening and replaced it with his enraged rod. He slowly played with Can's entrance for a little bit then slowly penetrated it. When half of his penis was inside, he removed it then entered again. He did it a couple of times to make sure that Can gets used to it.

"Hurry put it in, don't tease me anymore," Can pleaded. He is not only losing his mind but also his patience due to his selfishness and newfound craving.

"If that is what my wife wishes, then his husband will happily fulfill it." As soon as he finished his sentence, Tin suddenly thrust his entire sword without any warning. Can immediately gasped as Tin initiates an all-out attack. The bed started moving and creaking as it follows the rhythm of Tin's motion. As for Can, he was drowning in so much pleasure. He feels so good that he thinks he will get addicted.

As the Tin's movements become faster and louder, the intensity of delight intensified for both of them. Without even his hardened part being touched, Can's penis started to release a small amount of white liquid.

"I'm about to cum," Tin whispered to his lover who was also about to cum.

Can could not seem to focus on Tin's words as he continued to moan.

Tin started grunting which indicated that he was about to cum in a second. His movements became faster and rougher until finally, he released all of his stored white sticky liquid inside of Can. Not too long, Can also released his semen on the white bed sheet.

Now covered in sweat and sticky liquid, both of them finally calmed down. Catching their breath, Tin embraced his lover tenderly once again.

"I love you, Can," Tin softly said as he caressed Can's cheeks. When Can saw Tin's loving and happy expression, he could not help, but utter the same thing to him. He wants to make Tin happy. He wants to always see him smile.

"I love you too, Tin," Can said lovingly as he proceeded to kiss Tin once more.

The two felt the warmth of each other's passionate love.

Before they slept, the two snuggled together as Tin covered the two of them with a blanket.

When Can was about to close his eyes, he heard voices in his head.

_"C....!"_

_"Can...!"_

_"Cantaloupe wake up!"_

_"CANTALOUPE!!!!!"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For a bonus chapter, this is actually pretty long. I believe this is the longest chapter at the moment. Anyways, I'm going back to weekly updates starting next week. 
> 
> I decided to publish a bonus chapter instead of a main one just to give it some twist. I hope you guys enjoy it. 
> 
> Is the explicitness of this chapter good enough to satisfy you guys? Should I lower it down or make it better?
> 
> Once again, thank you SO MUCH for reading my fanfiction. 
> 
> I'll see you next week. :)


	36. Chapter 32 - The Black Snake Clan Slithers

(unedited)

"Cantaloupe!" Ley said loudly as she pulled Can's blanket.

Cantaloupe immediately woke up with a quick gasp which surprised his sister.

"Are you okay?" Ley worriedly asked as she stopped pulling his brother's blanket. It was already morning. She knew that her brother has a class today, so she had to wake him up. Also, she was interested in what happened yesterday between him and Tin.

Can surveyed his surroundings to see if he was still dreaming. He was not dreaming anymore. Somehow this made him feel weird and disappointed. After realizing that he was not in a dream anymore, he calmed himself down as he got up.

He looked at his sister, who had a confused gaze, and answered, "I'm okay."

"Why were you drunk yesterday?" Ley asked as she crossed her arms. Seeing that Can was fine, Ley went back to investigating what happened to Can and Tin yesterday. Did they do something interesting? When she saw that they came home late last night while she was watching television, she immediately started thinking about different scenarios that might have happened while the two were together. She currently has a writer's block and needed some inspiration to continue writing her popular fanfiction so asking Can some questions about their relationship development might give her new ideas.

"Drunk?" Can furrowed his eyebrows as he tried to recollect the events that happened yesterday. The last thing he remembered was being transferred outside his master's Phoenix Garden. Before that, he was in his master's villa. As he remembered the things that happened yesterday, he finally realized that the sweet water that he took must have been the cause for him to be drunk. He put a note to himself that he should be more careful with the things that he put in his mouth next time.

"Yes! Tin had to take you here to your room. Thankfully, it was me who saw you and not mom," Ley continued.

"Huh!? Tin took me home!?"

When he heard his name, Can immediately remembered all the things that they did in his dream especially in the bedroom. The little beast summoner felt embarrassed all of a sudden as his face blushed. His heart was like a huge drum that is being beaten simultaneously as it produced loud sounds.

He immediately covered his reddening face with both of his hands.

"Calm down. It's just a dream, Can! It's just a dream," Can whispered to himself repeatedly as he tried to calm his heart.

Ley, who saw his brother's reaction, became enthusiastic as her eyes started to glimmer. Something interesting must have happened between the two!

She grabbed his brother's shoulder and shook it due to her excitement.

"Tell me! Tell me what happened!? Did you guys do anything fun last night?" Ley delightedly asked as her smile became bigger and brighter.

Can knew what her sister was thinking, so he tried to dismiss her thoughts. If he does not do anything about it, her sister will keep pestering him about it. He tried to compose himself as he put the R18+ event that happened in his dream aside for now.

"Nothing happened," he calmly answered his sister. He saw what time it was, so he got out of bed and fixed it.

Ley frowned. She knew that his brother was trying to avoid the subject.

"Suspicious...." Ley whispered as the smile on her face and glimmering eyes were gone.

Can heard her sister's whisper but he ignored her.

"Don't you have school today? You should get ready," Can told Ley as he continued to fix his bed.

Ley quickly looked at Can's wall clock. It was almost 8:00 am. She is going to be late if she does not prepare herself for school immediately. But before she left, Ley looked at his brother.

"I'll find a way to know what happened. If you're not going to say anything, I might ask Tin myself," Ley threatened as she smirked.

Can shot her a glance.

"Ley! Don't cause unnecessary trouble for other people. Hurry and go to school!" Can said in a displeased tone.

"Bleeh!" Ley stuck her tongue out to mock her brother as she left his room.

"You!" Can annoyingly uttered. Now he is worried that Ley might say something to Tin. Speaking of Tin, the things that Can tried not to remember came back. Those memories from that dream especially the bed scene made him blush once again.

"It felt so real..." Can muttered as he unconsciously touched his butt. There was nothing wrong with his butt. The problem was the front. When Can checked, the front side of his pants was wet. Thankfully, it was black so his sister did not notice the wet spot. Now thinking about it, he was not wearing black pants yesterday! Who changed his clothes? It could not be his sister or his mother for sure. Then, it must be Tin! Once again, Tin managed to change his clothes when he was unconscious! Why was this happening to him! (Refer to Chapter 7 when Tin changed his clothes when he was unconscious.)

Can rushed to the bathroom to take a bath and change clothes. In any case, he could not alter what already happened, so he just needed to accept it. After getting out, he took his phone to check any messages. As expected, he received messages from Tin last night.

_Tin: "I won't be able to take you to the university and back home. I have some business to attend to." (sent at 10:56 p.m.)_

_Tin: "You have to explain to me what happened yesterday when I come back." (sent at 10:58 p.m.)_

After reading the messages from Tin, Can was a little relieved. He was not ready to face him because of what happened in the dream. He would just feel awkward and uncomfortable. At least now, he has some time to think about his feelings for Tin.

Can put his phone back in his backpack and summoned Beholder to take him to the university. When he arrived, he went straight to meet his master to train once again.

====

Somewhere around Tin's mansion, the owner seemed to be satisfied that Can was able to get to the university without any problem. Thanks to the Blood Pact, he has the ability to locate Can wherever he might be in this world.

"Are you paying attention?" Tin's grandfather who is in the necklace asked. He knew that his grandson was thinking of Can.

"Hmm." Tin nodded. A small fireball was surrounding him. It was the only source of light in the dark place that he was in. As the fireball moves around as if it has life, its flame flickered. Tin who was covered in dirt and sweat continued to walk.

Currently, Tin is in an unknown underground cave. He has been here since midnight exploring and trying to find a specific place of the cave. This cave is surprisingly large and has complex paths. If one does not know the right path, one could get lost in here easily. Thankfully, Tin's grandfather was here to guide him.

Clearing his throat, Tin's grandfather continued.

"We're almost there, just continue walking through this narrow path."

Towards the end of the narrow path, there was a red wooden door. As soon as they arrived at their destination, Tin's grandfather said with a satisfied tone, "This is it."

It has been a long time since he has been in this place.

"Stand in front of the door," he instructed Tin.

Tin followed his grandfather. As soon as he stood in front of the red door, his surrounding area started to shake and rumble, but he stood firmly.

After some time, when the door opened, the shaking of the ground stopped.

"Here it is, my grandson! Our ancestors' dimension," Tin's grandfather said excitedly.

Inside the room, there was a huge ball of pure white light standing in the middle of that room. The blinding light immediately caused Tin to cover his eyes with his hand. The fireball that helped him navigate through the cave disappeared.

The place that they just found was the teleportation room. The huge ball of pure white light is a way for them to teleport to their ancestor's dimension.

"Now approach the light," Tin's grandfather instructed.

Still covering his eyes, Tin slowly walked towards the ball of white light. As soon as he made physical contact with the ball, the intensity of the light grew as it completely swallowed Tin.

When the bright white light disappeared, Tin slowly opened his eyes.

"We're finally here," Tin's grandfather said as he heaved a sigh of relief.

Tin surveyed his surroundings, but it was foggy and windy. He was unable to see that far due to the thickness of the fog, but he knew he was in a forest area. He could hear the rustling of the leaves of the trees and grasses.

"Where are we exactly?" Tin asked calmly.

"I'm uncertain since the fog is too dense. This dimension is quite vast, so we could be anywhere. Also, I have only been here once, so I'm not quite familiar with this place anyways," his grandfather answered.

The reason they came here in the first place was to find a way to help Tin to become more powerful. Since the beginnings of time that this dimension was created, the Phiravich family has been using it to train, to expand their knowledge, to bury their dead family members, to hide their important and powerful items and etc. By going here, his grandfather was hoping to find something that would help his grandson level up faster.

The problem was that they do not know where they were to begin with. Even if they have the map of the dimension, it was useless due to the thick fog that even hides the sky.

Tin was about to remove the fog with his spell when sudden giggles were heard. Tin immediately looked at the direction where the sound came from but due to the fog, he could not see who it was. By the sounds of it, the chuckle came from a child.

"Who's there?" Tin calmly asked.

There was no answer except for continuous giggling.

"Grandfather, do you know who it is?" Tin asked.

He did not get any answer from his grandfather. There seemed to be something that was preventing his grandfather to talk.

"Let's play a game!" the voice from the unknown girl was heard.

"If you can catch me through this thick fog, I'll help you find what you were looking for!" the unknown child said as she started chuckling once more.

"Who are you?" Tin continued to ask.

"Catch me first! If you can! Hehe," the child playfully answered.

Tin was in no mood to play catch, so he raised his right hand in the air.

_"Absorption."_

All the fog that was covering his surrounding area was sucked rapidly back to Tin's right hand. Immediately, the area became clear. The sky became bright and blue. Tin now knows where he was; he was on the top of a mountain.

When the unknown child saw this. She could only gasp in anger.

"THAT'S UNFAIR! YOU CAN'T DO THAT!" The unknown child stomped her feet to the ground revealing her location.

Tin acted quickly.

_"Root Shackles."_

Roots under the girl's feet emerged and attached themselves to them. The girl, who was wearing a white yukata, did not notice the roots that were attaching themselves to her feet. She tried to remove them but she could not. While struggling, Tin approached her without any hurry.

"Now tell me who you are and what are you doing here?" Tin continued to ask with coldness in his eyes.

When the girl looked up and met his gaze, she immediately felt chills. She was scared all of a sudden.

"I-I don't know! I-I'm lost just like you." Thinking that the young elementalist will hit her, the girl covered her head with both of her hands as she ducked for cover.

"Liar. You just said you would help me find what I'm looking for when I catch you," Tin replied.

"BUT YOU CHEATED!" the small girl complained. She then gathered her courage and stood up once again.

"You didn't say I can't use my powers," Tin smirked.

"YOU! Hmph! I won't help you anymore," she continued as she crossed her arms.

"Have you seen a child getting burnt slowly?" Tin asked as a small fire emerged from his right hand. His smile became more sinister.

"N-no..." the girl started to become nervous once again as she stared at the small fire on Tin's hand.

"I haven't either. Do you want to see it then?" Tin looked at the child directly into her eye as the fire on his hands grew bigger.

"O-Okay! I'll tell you whatever you want! Just don't kill me. Jeez! You're the most annoying elementalist that I've encountered," the unknown child blurted out. Her last sarcastic words became fuel which caused Tin's fire to grow bigger.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! It won't happen again. Please have mercy!" the small girl ducked again as she shivered in fear.

Tin extinguished the fire on his hand.

"Now tell me everything that you know," he demanded the child. Tin knew that the little girl was not ordinary. His grandfather said that there should be no one currently living in this dimension aside from its twelve guardians. These twelve guardians represent the twelve elements. According to ancient history, they were originally elemental orbs owned by the first head of the Phiravich family. After the first head died, the twelve elemental orbs inside of him manifested themselves as humans. They pledged themselves that they would become guardians of this dimension that was created by their late owner. This little girl must be one of them.

After letting the little girl talk, Tin's assumption about her was true. The little girl was the wind guardian, Amihan. (A/N: I'm using Philippine mythology. Amihan is the goddess of the northeast winds in the Philippines.)

The little girl said in an annoyed tone, "I'll guide you to your ancestors' tomb, you'll find what you're looking for in there but remove these roots first!"

Tin silently removed the roots from the wind guardian. Out of the twelve guardians, Amihan is the weakest and the most mischievous. Even if this is the case, she is the fastest out of everyone. Tin was not afraid that the wind guardian would trick him since he has a map. As long as he has a map, he should be able to locate this tomb of his ancestors. This place that he was going to is not only a place where his ancestors rest in peace. It is also where their important valuables were kept for the next generation to use. This is actually a good place to start.

Composing herself as she breathed a sigh of relief, she jumped high and landed on one of the branches of a tall tree.

"Follow me!" the little girl said as she jumped once again to another tree.

_"Flight."_

A force of wind swirled around Tin and lifted him up in the air. He then started following the small guardian as she continuously jumped from one tree to another.

====

Somewhere in a secluded area.

A group of people wearing black masks and cloak came into a room where their old master was waiting.

"Sir, we got our target," one of the masked men pulled a young man in specialized iron shackles. The young man, who was blindfolded and gagged with some piece of fabric, tried to struggle.

"Why am I only seeing one? Where's Tin's father?" the old man, who was holding a fan with a dragon snake embroidery on it, asked with a confused look. (Refer to Ch. 17 about the enemies )

One of the masked men, who seemed to be the captain of the group, stepped forward.

"Sir, we were able to infiltrate E.A's prison with ease thanks to our allies. Unfortunately, when we were trying to transfer Tri Phiravich out of the prison, he somehow managed to get out from his restraints and escaped. He was too fast; we were unable to pursue him," the captain said concisely.

The old man's eyes started to turn green as they transformed into a snake's eyes. He started hissing like a snake in anger.

"You let our main target escape! How could you let this happen!? I put so much faith in your capabilities, but you still disappointed me!" the old man with the fan loudly blurted as he pointed his fan towards the direction of the captain.

"I'm sorry, sir," the captain said still with a firm but sorry tone.

The old man took a minute to calm himself down. He spread his fan and covered his mouth while staring at the young man who was lying on the floor struggling. An idea came to his mind.

"Our plan will continue with or without Tri Phiravich. As long as we get Tin Phiravich, everything will go back to what we originally planned."

The old man slowly approached the young man as an evil smile started to form on his mouth that was hidden by the fan. If someone was to see the old man's reaction, fear will immediately be felt.

"If Tin Phiravich cares about you, he will come and save you."

The old man proceeded to lean down. He took out the blindfold and the fabric that was inside the young man's mouth.

"Don't you think so, Can Rathavit?" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ohh Guys sorry about the delay. I went out with my friends so it took me some time to release this chapter. 
> 
>  
> 
> Thank you guys for your continuous support for this fanfic. I really appreciate it. I'll we see you guys next week!
> 
>  
> 
> I do not own the pictures that I have used for this chapter! Alright bye!


	37. Chapter 33 - Demonic Elementalist

(unedited)

"Who are you? W-what do you want?" Can asked as he was breathing heavily.

Earlier this afternoon, after he left his master's office, Can decided to go straight home. As he left the university, he summoned Beholder to take him back. As he was lifted through the air and started flying towards the direction of his house, he was immediately intercepted by an unknown group of people who were wearing black masks and cloaks. Without any explanation, all of them immediately formed a restrictive barrier in which he was unable to break through no matter how hard he tried. Before he could summon Valkyrie, a needle was sent flying to his neck. As it made contact to his skin, Can immediately felt sluggish and eventually lost his consciousness. He fell from Beholder's back where he was seating, but he was caught by one of the masked men. Without its master's constant flow of spiritual energy, Beholder was sent back to his dimension with distress on his face.

"Since you will die sooner or later, I'll tell you," the old man folded his fan revealing his evil smile.

"I'm Master Shin of the Black Snake Clan. As for my purpose?" the old man lifted Can's chin with his fan.

"I want vengeance for my clan members who were killed by that despicable elementalist!" As the old master thought about his fallen clan members, his composed evil attitude changed into displeasure. He gritted his teeth and gripped his fan firmly with his hand as it shook due to his anger.

"Killed clan members by...Tin?" Can thought about the words of the old master Shin and remembered the three malicious people who tried to harm Tin in the forest. Was it not those three people's fault to begin with? They were trying to harm Tin. Of course, Tin had to defend himself!

"Why are you blaming Tin? It was natural for him to defend himself," Can said with a firm voice.

"You foolish kid... You don't know anything about the person you're siding with," the old man scoffed as he shook his head. It was true that he wanted to harm Tin. Part of the reason was to eliminate competition for the Friendly Faction Competition, but the major reason was the deep grudge of the Black Snake Clane towards the Elementalist Association from the past. (A/N Chapter: 5 if you want to remember )

"If I tell you that the Elementalist Association massacred an entire clan in the past, would you believe me?" The old man asked as his heart trembled from sorrow.

Can just froze as he stared at Master Shin. He was not sure whether to believe the old man or not.

Can is quite knowledgeable about history since he is fascinated by how the world came to be the way it is today. So back then when he was young, he would read a lot of books about it. In history books, details about different wars were mentioned quite often, but this was the first time he heard about a massacred clan by E.A. If Master Shin was not lying, why would this incident not known or in the history textbooks? Unless, it was covered up?

"It doesn't matter to me if you believe me or not. I will repay E.A hundredfold this time, starting with Tin Phiravich," the old man stood up straight and started chanting. A burst of power was released in the room as Master Shin made different hand seals.

_"Witch Prison"_

After finishing his hand seals, Can was lifted into the air and was put inside a huge transparent white bubble. The Witch Prison spell acts as a defensive barrier against any kind of attacks, but this is not its specialty. This ancient forbidden legendary spell allows the person who cast it to be immune to specific kinds of attacks. The reason for this is because the attacks the caster will receive will be transferred to the person who was inside the transparent bubble prison. In this case, if someone attacks Master Shin, the ones who will receive these attacks would be Can. Since this spell requires sacrifice, it was considered forbidden by the Black Snake Clan.

Although they are known for their expertise on poison, the Black Snake Clan was also well known for creating powerful barriers and sealing spells. Due to this, they were once considered a powerhouse in the country during the ancient times.

Even though the Witch Prison spell is quite powerful, it did not mean that it does not have its weakness. Since Witch Prison is a legendary spell, casting it requires a tremendous amount of spiritual energy. Master Shin knew this, so he prepared multiple high-grade recovery potions. In any case, he has a lot of stored spiritual energy since he is currently a Tier 2 Rainbow Witch.

"Those traitors from E.A should already be moving to get Tin Phiravich by now," the old man's subordinate with glasses stated.

"Now, we wait," Master Shin said as he nodded in satisfaction.

In the Phiravich ancestors' dimension, Tin just arrived at his ancestors' tomb. At first glance, the place looked like a small palace. Mostly built by red sandstone with marble decorations, this tomb was surrounded by gardens and other small buildings. It was not evident that this place contains the remains of dead people.

       

(A/N: This tomb is called the baby Taj Mahal in India.)

"Alright, let's go in!" Amihan said excitedly as her hands were behind her head. She already forgot how Tin threatened to burn her while traveling. She was solely focused on getting into the tomb herself. 

Even though she is one of the guardians of this dimension, it did not mean that Amihan has access everywhere. This tomb was one of the restricted areas that she could not access. She thought that it was unfair that the other guardians could go in and she cannot. Now with an elementalist by her side, she could try her luck to go in and see how the inside truly looks like. Her plan all along was to bring Tin inside the tomb instead of guiding him first to the hall where the other guardians would meet him. If they find out, she might get in trouble, but because she has a mischievous nature, she does not care about the consequences of her actions to begin with. Also, the reason why Tin could not communicate with his grandfather was because Amihan restricted the necklace with a spell. If she let the two talk, then his grandfather, who came here before, might know something was wrong.

Tin tried to talk to his grandfather once again, but there was still no reply. This made Amihan nervous. Yet, after seeing Tin giving up and continued following her without a suspicious look on his face, she felt relieved.

As the two entered, the barrier that would usually prevent the wind guardian from entering has disappeared. The torches that were attached to the walls were lighted causing this dark place to be illuminated. Inside the tomb, there were different small opened rooms alongside a seamlessly endless stone pathway. When the two took a step forward inside, an immediate powerful pressure was felt. This made the wind guardian shake in fear as beads of sweat formed on her forehead. As her legs weakened, she was forced to fall on her knees. She had to cover her body with both of her arms as goosebumps covered her entire body. What's with this overwhelming pressure inside?

When he looked back, Tin saw the wind guardian sitting on the floor.

"What's with you?" Tin asked casually.

Amihan looked back at Tin and was confused.

"A-are you no-not feeling that overwhelming pressure?" the wind guardian asked as her teeth started to chatter.

"No." Tin frowned.

"If you're too scared, you can leave," he continued as he turned around and continued walking.

Although she did not want to admit it, she actually felt scared to move further inside. This might be the reason why she was restricted to go inside the tomb. 

This pressure that she was feeling could be from the lingering power of Phiravich family's ancestors. Since the dead who reside this tomb is considered the most powerful elementalists, it could explain why there was an overwhelming and suffocating pressure. In any case, Amihan could not stay in the tomb any longer, so she decided to leave the place immediately and wait for Tin to come out.

Tin ignored Amihan and continued exploring the place.

Suddenly, he heard whispers in his ears telling him to follow the voice. The young elementalist looked at his surroundings and found no one. After hearing more whispers from the unknown person, Tin decided to follow its instructions.

After a series of walking and turning, he was led to an unknown room. When Tin was exploring the tomb, each room would have a wooden sign with the name of the dead ancestor written at the top side of the entrance. This particular room where Tin was currently in did not have a wooden sign with a name. Why would this particular ancestor not have a name?

"Enter..."

Tin heard another whispered instruction from the unknown person and followed it. The owner of that voice must be the dead ancestor in this particular room.

As he entered the small room, the torches inside lighted up. Tin immediately furrowed his eyebrows as he surveyed the contents of the room. Unlike the other rooms which were fully decorated with a lot of things, this room did not have any. The only thing that it contained was the simple stone casket that was covered with a lot of paper talismans. It seemed the casket was sealed for some reason.

       

"Open it..."

When Tin heard another whisper from the unknown person, he was unsure whether he should open it or not since it could be a trap.

"For Can..."

Hearing Can's name caused Tin to become more alert as he looked around to survey the room. How did this unknown person know Can? He never mentioned anything about him when he entered this dimension.

"Who are you?" Tin finally asked, but he did not get an answer. After waiting for some time, there were no whispers from the unknown person anymore.

Taking a deep breath, Tin decided that he would open the stone casket. He went closer and slowly pushed the top cover of the casket. As he was moving, the paper talismans that covered it were burned off. Tin did not let them bother him and continued removing the cover. Once the cover was removed, Tin checked the contents of the casket.

Inside, there was the skeleton of the nameless ancestor wearing a simple black robe. By the looks of it, the ancestor was a male. On his skeletal hands, he was holding a staff.

A staff was used to enhance the power of spells of an elementalists during ancient times. In truth, the power does not come from the staff itself but the power crystal it possesses. The power crystal contains an essence that allows magical attacks to become more powerful. The staff only acts as a vessel to contain the crystal. In the modern era, elementalists use different kind of items to contain their power crystals such as watches, necklaces, bracelets, etc. Tin currently does not possess any power crystals because he could not find a proper one and he does not need one to begin with. Now, with the uncertain future, he has no choice but to actually look for one. Thankfully, in this tomb, there seemed to be plenty of power crystals from his ancestors that he could choose from. The only problem was finding the right one.

Examining the staff that this ancestor was holding, there seemed to be something odd about it. The head of the staff was covered with several small power crystals. At the very top, there was a hole in it. It seems that it was missing the main power crystal. Yet, even if this is the case, the power that the staff holds seemed to be abundant.

For some reason, Tin could not help it but be attracted to the staff as if it was calling him to grab it.

As he slowly grabbed the staff, a small black mist appeared and slowly covered Tin's hands. Tin tried to remove his hand from the staff, but he could not do it. Soon, the black mist started to expand as it continued to crawl to Tin's arm; it then spread towards his entire body. He tried to struggle, but he could not move at all. Tin suddenly hear someone laughing in his ears. He looked around, but no one was there. He thought it might be the unknown person, but it sounded different from that person who had an innocent tone to his voice. This person who was laughing had a sinister tone.

Now that the black mist is covering his entire body, the only left to cover is Tin's face. As it continued to slowly cover Tin's face, the person's sinister laugh became louder.

_"Evil Suppression!"_

Tin turned his head and saw someone covered in a wizard cloak while holding an opened book with his hand. Under his feet was some sort of magical formation. The black mist that covered Tin slowly retreated and went back to the staff. The laugh that was somewhat deafening to Tin's ears finally stopped.

(A/N: This is how I see this character. Picture is not mine.)

Tin was finally able to move freely, so he removed his grasp from the staff.

"The staff has chosen you as its master, but you're still too weak to wield its full power, so it tried to control you instead," the handsome man with pointed elven ears said as he closed his book.

"If Amihan didn't inform me about you, the staff might have full control of your body. When that happens, there's no way for you to come back and we'll have no choice but to kill you...," the handsome man said as he smirked. He turned around and started walking away. 

Tin formed a fist on his right hand. He was too careless. If something were to happen to him, what will happen to Can?

"I've already suppressed its possessive nature and power for the meantime. Take the staff with you and come with me outside of this tomb," the handsome man said as he left the room. Tin took a deep breath and calmed himself down as he picked up the staff. He then quickly returned the top cover of the stone casket back to its place and followed the mysterious man.

When they came out, Amihan was waiting for the two anxiously. When he saw that the two were fine, she heaved a sigh of relief.

"Beelzebub, what happened inside?" Amihan asked with curiosity.

"He got what he needs," Beelzebub said casually as he continued to walk towards the hall.

Hearing his name, Tin confirmed that this mysterious man is the Dark Guardian. He wields the power of the darkness which explains why he was able to suppress the evil black mist. He is considered one of the most powerful guardians in this dimension.

Amihan looked at the item that Tin was holding. She wanted to touch it, but her instincts are telling her to stay away from it, so she did.

The three of them walked towards the hall. When they arrived inside, Beelzebub explained and answered the questions that were in Tin's mind. As of now, the only guardians that are available was Beelzebub and Amihan. The other guardians were busy doing other things around the dimension.

According to Beelzebub, the owner of the staff was from a demonic elementalist. Tin knew the details about demonic elementalists.

In the ancient times, the elementalists were divided into two groups: those who practice the righteous arts and those who practice demonic arts. The main difference between the two was their source of spiritual power. For the righteous elementalists, they relied on natural and pure spiritual energy. For the demonic elementalists, they have to rely on evil energy which came from the impurity of the Earth itself. Having differences meant that there are oppositions and disagreements between the two groups. Even before the war between E.A and B.S.G began, these two oppositions within the group of elementalists were already escalating. But when the war broke out with B.S.G, they had to put their differences aside and unified themselves to fight the beast summoners. Yet, after peace was established after the King of the Beasts was sealed away, war within the righteous and the demonic elementalists occurred.

Even though demonic elementalists are more powerful than the righteous ones, using impure spiritual energy have their consequences. The more that the demonic elementalists use this kind of energy, the more that their health deteriorates. Due to this, their numbers which were small to begin with grew smaller. Towards the end, they were mostly eradicated by the righteous elementalists. Those who survived hid somewhere far away and never came out.

For the nameless ancestor in the tomb, no one knows who it was. Even the guardians who resided the dimension since ancient times do not know who it was. The only thing that was certain was that this nameless ancestor was a demonic elementalist who was a part of the Phiravich family.

As for the staff, its origin is unknown. Beelzebub told Tin that the staff was forged with immense impure spiritual energy. This particular energy within the staff was suppressed by powerful seals. Those powerful seals were created by using a person's soul. With a huge number of seals embedded in the staff, thousands of people might have been sacrificed. The missing main power crystal of the staff was apparently destroyed when its former owner died. Even if the main power crystal was destroyed, the immense spiritual energy plus the other small power crystals would increase Tin's power greatly. Tin was advised that he should wield the staff in moderation because if he used it too much, he might deviate or lose control of himself.

As a Dark Guardian, Beelzebub knows the demonic arts, so he handed Tin a training manual called < _Demon's Heaven_ >. If Tin decides to use the staff, he must then start practicing the demonic arts. Of course, Tin was aware that when he takes the path of the demonic arts, there will be risks involved.

"I'll let you decide whether you want to go through this path or not, but according to my assessment, your body is a better fit at performing demonic arts. You can easily gain power and level up to an astronomical degree," Beelzebub casually smiled as the fangs of his teeth were shown. Something tells the Dark Guardian that from now on, interesting events will start happening.

After their talk, Tin put the staff and training manual inside his infinite storage small pouch. He was then teleported outside of the dimension and back somewhere nearby the mansion. His grandfather was finally able to communicate with his grandson after the restrictive spell was removed. He witnessed the events that happened in the dimension especially about the nameless ancestor and the staff that Tin has.

"I wouldn't support you performing the demonic arts, but knowing your stubborn personality, you wouldn't listen to me!" Tin's grandfather said annoyingly.

"Whether you decide to continue the righteous arts or do the demonic arts, you just have to be careful. Don't be too careless," he continued.

"I understand. Thank you, Grandfather," Tin said with a small smile on his face.

For the first time, Old Man Phiravich heard his grandson thanking him! He was truly blown away. He never thought that his cold-hearted grandson would thank him with a genuine smile on his face. It made the old man quite happy.

"That's good to hear my grandson," the old man said in a satisfied tone.

When Tin returned inside the mansion, something did not feel right immediately. The door of the mansion was unlocked; there seemed to be a commotion inside.

"Where is he? Did he already know our plans?" one of the unknown men said.

"That's impossible, our plan was confidential. Only us from E.A, those higher ups of the Black Snake Clan, and the Phurin family from B.S.G should only know," the other taller man explained.(A/N: If you guy's don't know, Trump Phurin who was defeated by Can is part of the Phurin family. Chapter 15 if you want to remember.)

The other guy hit the taller man in the head.

"Don't say those words casually! Continue searching the mansion!" the captain instructed.

"Hmmm.....these idiots just spilled the people involved in this conspiracy. What's there plan, I wonder?" the old man asked as he contemplated why they would look for his grandson.

Tin felt a bad premonition. Immediately Can crossed his mind. By this time, Can should be home.

Using blood magic to try to locate Can, he soon realized that he was not where he was supposed to be. Eventually, Tin found Can's location. It seemed that he was held captive.

Without any hesitation, he left the mansion and proceeded to go to the location as fast as he could.

"Tin, where are you going?" the old man worriedly asked.

This time, it was him who did not get an answer. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a pretty long chapter XD Alright! I will see you guys next week!
> 
> Sorry about the delay!
> 
> Anyways, Thank you guys for your support btw! I really appreciate it :)
> 
> (Pictures here are obviously not mine)


	38. Chapter 34 - Witch Hunt

(unedited)

Arriving at the secluded fortress where Can was held up in a faraway forest, Tin hid in the tall bushes while observing his surroundings. Currently, the huge ominous fortress was surrounded by a shield barrier. Tin cannot attack the barrier impulsively since he knew that it was not just any ordinary barrier. Whoever created it must be at least at a Rainbow level.

"Tin, what did I tell you about being careful! You just came right in front of the snake's mouth without thinking first! I hope you're not thinking of going in by yourself without any assistance!" Tin's grandfather angrily and worriedly said.

Tin was not paying attention to his grandfather, but he was aware of his current situation. Even if he was to call assistance, it was already too late. Tin's location was already known by the enemies. As soon as Tin entered the forest which was already under control of the Black Snake Clan, he was already being tracked.

Five experts wearing black masks and cloaks from the Black Snake Clan were already on the move. They carefully and slowly surrounded Tin to capture him by creating a barrier to trap him. Unbeknown to them, Tin already sensed their presence thanks to his Blood Element. After gaining this element, his senses became sharper. Even if a person was hidden, as long as blood flows within that person's body, Tin would be able to detect that person if they were in a certain range.

Manipulating his spiritual energy, he cast a spell mixed with water and blood elements.

_"Frozen Blood"_

As one of the experts took another step closer to Tin, his movements suddenly stopped. Somehow he felt that his feet started to become heavy and cold. That feeling started to spread upwards to his body. Unfortunately, it was too late when he realized that he was already under Tin's spell as he became numb. He tried to warn his other comrades, but he failed. His internal organs and blood had been frozen solid. He was stuck in a standing position as he failed to struggle to survive. None of his comrades noticed his silent death.

"Do the five-person restrictive barrier now..." one of the experts said to her comrades through telepathy.

The others who surrounded Tin immediately followed the instruction of their female captain. Yet, for some reason, the barrier was not successfully built. The experts were confused. What happened?

All of a sudden, Tin moved from his hidden spot and ambushed one of the remaining experts. Now the table has turned. The hunter was being hunted. Tin's footsteps with the assistance of a speed-increasing wind spell made the expert unable to react on time to defend himself.

_"Drain Blood!"_

Tin grabbed the expert's masked face with his right hand and crushed it with great force. The cracking of the skull could be heard clearly as blood and brain matters of the expert burst out. That was not the end for the expert though. The blood and spiritual energy inside his body was still being absorbed by Tin. Like bottled water, as more was being absorbed, the body of the dead expert wrinkled. His body continued to shrink until his entire blood inside of his body was completely absorbed. Seeing this shocking and terrifying death of their comrade, the others were hesitating to attack Tin.

"How can he kill him instantly? What's his level? Aren't we supposed to be able to take him down with our combined power?" one of the remaining experts said as he slowly moved back. The experts who were tasked to capture Tin were Orange level. With Tin's current level, these experts were nothing but ants that can easily be crushed. Even if the gap between Orange and Rainbow is one level, the difference in power was still tremendous. Since the experts underestimated Tin, they were the ones who suffered the consequences of not being thoroughly prepared.

"Tsk!" the female captain clicked her tongue. She finally realized the reason why the five-person barrier did not work. One of his comrades already died before they could even form the barrier. With this realization, there was no way for the three of them to go against Tin. Thankfully, they received an order from Master Shin to retreat.

Using a spell, the three remaining experts escaped. Tin who was filled with anger and murderous intent the entire time did not bother pursuing the others. He once again faced the fortress. Suddenly, the shield barrier surrounding the place was gone. What was happening?

"That's a trap Tin, don't go! We don't know how dangerous it is inside yet!" Tin's grandfather warned.

His grandson did not listen. Tin has been thinking of ways to penetrate the shield barrier since he got here. Now that it was gone, he cannot let this opportunity go. Even if it was a trap, it did not matter to him. He had to save Can as soon as possible. That's what matters to him the most.

Without any hesitation, he went inside the fortress and directed himself where Can was held captive through Blood Pact. As soon as he entered, the shield barrier of the fortress returned. Navigating the place, Tin did not meet any enemy forces. It was obvious that there was a trap, but it did not let Tin bother him. Still, he raised his guard up in case something unexpected happened. After some time, he finally found the room where Can was held hostage. He blasted the door with his wind magic causing the old detailed designed wooden doors to fly out inside the room.

"Is this how the heir of the E.A. acts in someone else's home? How rude," Master Shin whose fan was hiding his evil smile said. Next to Master Shin was the transparent bubble prison where Can was currently struggling to get free.

"Tin! It's a trap," Can screamed as he hit the prison that he was in a couple of times, but nothing happened.

Although Tin could not hear Can's words, the concern on the little beast summoner's face was clear. Tin's angered heart calmed down for a bit when he saw that Can was okay and he did not suffer any fatal injuries. Now that he knew that Can was okay, he needed to focus on saving him by defeating this old man. Eyebrows frowning as his anger returned, Tin raised his hand to cast a spell.

_"Strangling Wind!"_

A gust of powerful wind surrounded Master Shin and concentrated around his neck.

"You're not even going to ask who I am? I'm offended," Master Shin said as he sneered.

"I already know who you are," Tin said with a tone full of hatred.

"Although it wouldn't matter anymore after you die," he continued.

"Let's see how long that arrogance of yours will last...." the old man replied as his evil smile widened.

Forming a hand, the hand-like wind strangled the old man's neck with great force.

"AHHH!" Can instantly felt the pain around his neck. He felt as if someone is strangling him and it was suffocating. He touched his neck with both of his hands shakily as he tried to gasp for air, but he failed.

Seeing that Master Shin was not affected and still seemed to smile, Tin looked towards the person inside the transparent bubble and immediately stopped his wind spell. After the spell ended, Can started to gasp for air as he fell down. A mixture of red and purple marks surrounded Can's neck. His eyes were blood red. He felt like he was going to die at that moment. What exactly happened to him?

"Hahaha! Why stop all of a sudden Tin Phiravich?" the old man said sarcastically as he fanned himself with his antique fan.

"What did you do?" Tin said as he worriedly and nervously looked at Can who was choking and breathing heavily.

"Let me answer you using the words you just told me,'It wouldn't matter anymore after you die'," the old man casually said as he approached Tin unhurriedly and calmly.

Tin mostly figured out what was happening. If he tried to harm Master Shin, the one who would suffer would be Can. If that was the case, then he would just destroy the barrier.

_"Lightning Palm"_

Tin disregarded Master Shin who was approaching him and focused on the barrier instead. Sparks of thick white lightning covered Tin's right hand as electricity covered his body. Increasing its power to maximum, the brightness of the lightning was blinding that Master Shin had to close his eyes which emphasized his wrinkles around them.

After reaching its maximum power, Tin charged towards the transparent bubble.

As soon as the powerful lightning attack made contact with the bubble, it was instantly absorbed by the bubble. It was as if nothing actually happened. There was no damage to the bubble at all. He tried using other offensive spells, but they were useless.

Tin could only clench his hands firmly as he gritted his teeth. Can was right in front of him, but he cannot do anything to get to him due to this barrier. He truly underestimated his opponent.

"Tin, no matter what you do, physical or magical, you won't be able to destroy this type of barrier," Tin's grandfather said with a serious tone. He was able to figure out what kind of spell that was being used by Master Shin. After telling his grandson the details about the Witch Prison spell, Tin realized that he could not do anything against Master Shin. He could only wait until the old man loses his spiritual energy, but surely this person had already planned about maintaining his spiritual energy. Tin wanted to drain the old man's spiritual energy with his spells, but he was afraid that Can would get hurt in the process, so he disregarded the idea.

"Why did you stop attacking Tin Phiravich?" Master Shin smirked. Tin did not reply, but the hatred in his face intensified. Seeing Tin's reaction, the old man became happier and he became more enthusiastic at mocking him.

"Why are you the one getting mad? This humble old me is giving you the chance to save your lover. Shouldn't you be happy?" the old man asked sarcastically. Once again, Tin did not reply as he stood not too far away from the white bubble.

Sighing, the old man folded his fan. He had enough of playing with Tin. He wanted to seek his revenge immediately before he had to replenish his spiritual energy. He was not too worried though since he has a couple of high-grade spiritual recovery potions in his special ring that has a huge amount of storage.

Folding his fan, Master Shin started doing complicated hand signs.

_"Spirit Core Seal"_

From a mocking attitude to a serious one, Master Shin prepared to attack. Beads of sweat started to form on his forehead. Activating and maintaining the Spirit Core Seal requires a huge amount of spiritual energy. Since Master Shin is maintaining the Witch Prison and the Spirit Core Seal, his spiritual energy was decreasing more rapidly. He never tried performing and maintaining two legendary spells at once, but he knew how energy consuming they are. He was just thankful that he has potions with him.

As he activated the Spirit Core Seal, unknown symbols revolved and floated around the old man's wrists like a bracelet.

"Don't let him come near you, Tin! If he hits you five times while the Spirit Core Seal is still activated...Your spiritual core will break..." Tin's grandfather warned worriedly. The spiritual core stores and releases spiritual energy. If the core is sealed or destroyed, there would be no way for the person to use magic.

Without magical powers, the person is nothing but useless. In this world, magical power is the main source of strength. Without it, the person is nothing but trash to society. That how it has been since the beginning of time. Death would be considered a better option for those people who were unfortunate to lose their spiritual cores.

Master Shin immediately rushed forward to land his first hit on Tin's chest. Thankfully, before the old man could land a hit, Tin was able to dodge as he floated in the air. Although he missed, this did not discourage Master Shin, so he continued attacking Tin. As he continued to attack and the other continued to defend, both of them became quicker with their movements instead of slowing down. The battle intensified, but it was clear who had the upper hand. Since Tin could only defend, it did not take long for him to be cornered in the room. Trying to escape from the old man's attack, Tin faced the wall. He decided to destroy the walls of the room to go to another location in the fortress. Unfortunately, the concrete walls he tried to destroy were still there standing still without any damages. What was wrong with the walls?

Before he could figure out that there was a barrier placed around the room after he entered, Master Shin took this opportunity and hit Tin's back with his palm. First hit.

"Ack!" Tin spewed a mouthful of blood. His spiritual core has received damage instantly causing Tin to experience excruciating pain. Knowing that he cannot escape the room, Tin immediately formed his own defensive barrier as he breathed heavily and beads of sweat formed around his forehead.

"TIN! How are you feeling?" Tin's grandfather worriedly asked.

"I'm okay," Tin whispered as he put his hand on his chest to check his spiritual core. There was a small crack on it.

"JUST SAVE YOURSELF! JUST GET OUT!" Can screamed loudly knowing that doing so will only hurt his quite bruised neck. No matter how much he screamed and pleaded, Tin was not able to hear him. Even if Tin heard him, he would not dare leave Can and save himself.

Not seeing any reaction from Tin after his attempt to get his attention, Can could not help but feel helpless. He could not do anything for Tin because of the Witch Prison. If it were not for him, Tin would not be here suffering. The guilt inside Can started to grow. He felt useless. He realized that Tin could not attack the old man since it will hurt him just like what happened earlier. He knew that Tin cares so much about him(Can) that he(Tin) would risk his(Tin) life just to make sure he(Can) would not be the one suffering. This was all his(Can) fault. Thinking all of this made Can frustrated. His heart trembled from pain seeing Tin's bad situation. This kind of pain was way worse compared to when he was being strangled earlier. He was unable to summon his contracted beasts to help Tin since the Witch Prison was restricting him. The only thing he could do is to watch and hope that Tin survives and win the battle.

"You're truly underestimating my capabilities Tin. Barriers are my clan's specialty," Master Shin said mockingly as he used the palm of his right hand to touch the barrier that Tin created.

_"Crash Barrier!"_

The defensive barrier that Tin formed was destroyed immediately. Without wasting any time, Master Shin continued his offensive. Another hit was landed on Tin's chest causing Tin to spew another mouthful of blood. Second hit.

Another crack appeared on Tin's spiritual core. Before Master Shin could land another destructive attack, Tin quickly cast another spell shakily.

_"Flashbang!"_

A spark of bright white light covered the entire room. This took Master Shin by surprise as he was blinded momentarily. Tin used this chance to move in the middle of the room in order to get enough space to defend himself and not get cornered once again.

_"Mist!"_

After the bright white light disappeared, Tin cast another spell that caused the entire room to be covered in thick mist. With this, he hoped that it would be harder for the old man to locate him. He was wrong.

"You have a lot of tricks up your sleeve Tin, but they won't save you. As long as I have your weakness, you can't do anything." The old man said as he laughed conceitedly. Master Shin knew very well that Tin would not attack him at all. Also, since this very room that they were in was under his control, he knew Tin's exact position even with this thick mist.

As his spiritual core took heavy damage, Tin's senses became less sharp. His spiritual power was decreasing at an alarming rate. If this keeps up, he would be the one losing this battle. If he loses, he does not know what would happen to Can. This caused Tin to feel fear. This fear was something he never experienced for a long time that it became foreign to him when he felt it right now. If he loses Can, Tin would not know what he would do when that happens. Instantly, the pain in his heart intensified when he thought about this scenario. He started to become more nervous as his body shook. Tears were starting to form on his eyes as he became more paranoid. His breathing became heavier. He does not want to lose another important person in his life.

"TIN! FOCUS! TIN!" Grandfather Phiravich continued to call his grandson, but he was not responding.

Since Tin's senses became less sharp, he was unable to detect Master Shin's quick movements, so it was too late when he realized that the old man was about to hit his chest again.

One palm strike followed by another, Tin was unable to block. After landing the remaining necessary attacks, the Spirit Core Seal has been completed. Master Shin could not help it but smile evilly as he was able to achieve one of his plans which was to destroy Tin's spiritual core. He cannot kill Tin yet because he wanted to lure his father, Tri Phiravich. Now that Tin's spiritual core broke, Tin is nothing but trash. This was a better punishment than a quick death.

After receiving destructive simultaneous blows, Tin spewed more blood from his mouth. His shaking body became weak as he experienced more excruciating pain than before. Slowly, his vision started to blur. Now that his spiritual core has been destroyed completely, the heavy mist in the room disappeared immediately. The last thing that Tin saw before he collapsed on the ground was Can's horrified face.

"I'm so-r-ry, Can...." Tin softly uttered to Can as he finally falls on the floor.

There was a moment of silence in the room, but it was replaced by a triumphant laugh and an inaudible struggling scream. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, guys for the delay but here ya go.
> 
> GUESS WHAT! I'm going to BTS Concert!!! HELL YEAHHHHHH!!!!!!
> 
> HEHEHEEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!!! 
> 
> OHH who saw Reminders episodes! I still haven't finished watching, but I like them so far! TINCAN especially!
> 
> Anyways! Thank you guys for your continuous support! I will see you next week! Woot!! :)


	39. Chapter 35 - Father to the Rescue

(unedited)

Master Shin's spiritual energy was almost depleted, but he was not too worried. Now that Tin's spiritual core was destroyed by him, there was nothing that Tin could do at all. Lowering his guard, Master Shin unhurriedly took a high-grade spiritual recovery potion from his storage ring. The transparent bubble that Can was in started to fade. This moment would have given Can a chance to escape, but he was too occupied and devastated about Tin who was unconscious. The little beast summoner had stopped screaming a while ago because his throat became too worn out and swollen. Even if he wanted to speak, he would not be able to. His body shook; his legs suddenly became weak as he kneeled. Can was staring silently and lifelessly at Tin's unconscious body as his tears kept falling. It felt like a part of him was destroyed. He felt hopeless and useless. Tin has been helping and saving him. Now that it was Tin who needed his help, he could not do anything. Can felt miserable.

As Master Shin was opening the potion bottle, his shadow behind him silently started to grow as it took a form of a physical human. When Master Shin felt that something was wrong, it was too late for him to react.

_"Molten Punch."_

A very hot and glowing red hand covered with lava and flames penetrated through Master Shin's chest where his heart was located. As his chest was penetrated, his heart was easily removed from its place. Still throbbing in his hand, the mysterious shadow crushed it. Before Master Shin drew his last breath, he shakily turned around. When he saw the person who sneaked attack from behind, his eyes widened as they started to blur.

"I should've known...Tri...Phi-ravich....you ba-stard.....," Master Shin weakly said as he coughed up blood.

By being too careless for a moment, Master Shin was the one who truly suffered in the end. How did Tri manage to infiltrate the fortress? He should have been able to detect his presence as soon as he entered. That was unless he was able to somehow bypass the surveillance around the fortress and killed his entire team that was guarding this entire room without getting attention? If that was the case then....

Tri, who seemed to figure out what the dying old man was thinking, only gave him a cold murderous smile. This reaction confirmed Master Shin's assumption. His body was filled with goosebumps as tears slowly fell from his eyes.

Tin's father was a Tier 3 Rainbow Elementalist while the strongest fighter, Master Shin, in the Black Snake Clan was a Tier 2 Rainbow Witch. This gap of power could be compared to heaven and earth. With Tri's power, he could easily kill those who were below Tier 3 without too much of a problem.

"You...monster..." Master Shin quietly said as his eyes filled with regret slowly closed. His breathing immediately stopped afterwards.

His death was the end to his plan of avenging his clan members. He promised that their enemies would pay hundredfold, yet why was it that their clan was the one suffering once again? Life and fate were truly unfair.

Tin's father who had an unkempt look due to his time in jail did not reply. He removed his left hand from the old man's chest as he kicked him to the floor.

_"Memory Absorb."_

Master Shin's corpse floated into the air, as his memories were being absorbed.

Now that Master Shin was dead and the guards of the fortress were either killed or escaped, the Witch Prison had completely faded. When Can realized that Master Shin had died by the hands of the unknown savior, he did not hesitate to go to Tin's side.

He forced to himself to speak so that Tin would hear him.

"Tin...Tin...wake..up," Can weakly and hoarsely whispered as he caressed the face of the unconscious man in front of him. His tears once again flowed intensely. After seeing Tin up close, Can was able to see the pain that Tin was feeling even if he was unconscious. Tin's forehead was covered in beads of sweat as his brows frowned from the pain. His breathing was weak.

"Don't die..." Can plead to the unconscious boy as he wiped the sweat from Tin's forehead with his hand.

After absorbing the memories and stealing the storage ring from the old man, Tri went towards Can and his unconscious son.

"We have to leave now. Reinforcements are coming," Tri said with a serious tone as he grabbed his son to his right side and Can to his left side.

_"Shadow Mist"_

A black mist covered the three and within seconds, they disappeared from the room. After some time, the black mist that covered the three dispersed.

When Can looked around, he saw that he was in a quite luxurious bedroom. This time he did not focus on the expensive decorations in the room but to Tin who was still unconscious.

Tin's father immediately took his son and placed him in a huge bed in the room. Can followed and stood up next to the mysterious man by the bed.

Checking Tin's current situation, Tri could not help it but be furious as his hand formed into a fist. That damn old man destroyed his son's spiritual core!

He calmed himself down since there was no point of being angry in this situation. In his own storage bag that was on the table next to the bed, Tri took out a potion bottle and poured it into Tin's mouth. Can did not ask or protest since he knew that this mysterious man was their savior. After pouring the entire contents of the bottle, Tin's facial reaction seemed to have calmed down. He did not look that he was in pain. His breathing finally stabilized and his pale color returned to normal.

"He's going to live," Tri calmly but seriously said.

"Thank you." Can forced himself to talk but he finally lost his voice. Still, he did not mind it and smiled at the mysterious man. If it were not for him, the two of them would have probably died already.

Tri nodded. Seeing the bruises on his neck, Tri took another potion bottle from his storage bag and gave it to Can.

"Drink it," Tri said as he handed the bottle to the little beast summoner.

Can nodded and slowly started drinking the potion. As he drank the liquid, the pain he felt around his neck was gone.

While he was drinking, Tri once again faced his unconscious son and noticed the necklace that he was wearing. He removed it from Tin and put a small amount of spiritual energy in the necklace.

"Go get some rest."

Now that he felt better, Can properly thanked the mysterious man.

"Thank you."

"I should be the one thanking you for taking care of my son," Tri said facing the door before he left.

Son? This mysterious man is Tin's father? He has never seen him before. Not even in his mansion! He wondered where he has been the whole time?

Taking care of him? He was unable to do anything to save Tin. He was the reason why Tin was in this current state in the first place. He risked his life to save him. It was all his fault. If only he was stronger. Can hated himself for being weak.

Sitting on the side of the bed, Can started caressing Tin's face.

"I'm sorry, Tin. If only I was stronger," Can whispered as he leaned closer to Tin. Tears in his eyes once again formed as they were on the verge of falling.

Can owed Tin his life, so it was right for Can to also sacrifice himself for Tin.

With this reminder, Can was determined to protect Tin. Now that he was sure about his true feelings for him, he would be more careful not to hurt or abandon Tin.

As he thought about the things the unconscious man did for him, Can's eyes started to feel heavy due to him being tired. He tried to fight his sleepiness, but in the end, he fell asleep next to Tin.

"I understand now," Tin's grandfather said in a serious tone. When Tri went outside of his son's room, he communicated with his father and explained briefly the things that happened to him throughout the years and changes he experienced while he was in prison. Although it could be considered a long-awaited sweet reunion between father and son, Tin's grandfather still scolded Tri for neglecting Tin. After his father(Tin's grandfather) expressed the grievances that his son(Tri) has committed towards Tin, Tri explained the necessary details about Master Shin and his plans after his(Master Shin) memories were absorbed by him(Tri).

According to the absorbed memories, the Black Snake Clan collaborated with some of the high-ranking elders from E.A who wanted to get rid of Tin permanently in order to control E.A themselves. The clan also collaborated with the infamous Phurin family from B.S.G who wanted to capture and experiment on Can.

Since this collaboration involved powerful groups, tackling this matter would not be easily resolved. Now that Tri and Tin are considered fugitives and without political power in E.A., they had to rely on someone that they could trust and with high authority. This discussion led to the involvement of Tin's grandfather's old friend and Can's current master, Old Man Khang.

After communicating with Old Man Khang through a secured communication device that was used only for emergency between him(Khang) and Tin's grandfather, Can's master responded quickly. He arrived the moment he heard that his disciple was in trouble.

"Where is Can?" Old Man Khang angrily asked Tri.

"He's alright. He's inside with my son. Let the two rest," Tri calmly said.

At first, when he heard Tri's voice through the secured communication device, Old Man Khang was quite shocked. Who would have thought that Tri would actually seek him? Tri hated the people from B.S.G so much that seeing one of them would make his blood boil! But when Tri explained the entire situation and asked for his assistance, Old Man Khang was even more shocked! It seemed that Tri somehow changed.

Hearing that Can was alright, Old Man Khang, who was wearing a luxurious black suit, heaved a sigh of relief.

"Thank you for saving my disciple."

Tri nodded and replied, "He's important to my son. I know how it feels when someone you love so much was taken away from you. I don't want him to experience that." After he absorbed the memories of Master Shin, he was able to figure out the relationship between Tin and Can.

Not only was Old Man Khang was speechless, but also Tri's father. He did change! The two wondered what happened to him while he was in prison. 

"How should we deal with this problem?" Tin's grandfather asked as he changed the topic.

"This is not a simple matter. Even if we know who collaborated with the Black Snake Clan, we cannot rashly root them out. Since many powerful groups are involved, handling this case could cause disorder in both E.A and B.S.G. It is possible that the entire country of Thailand would plunge into chaos. If this happens, civil war and invasion from foreign countries that wanted to control our country's precious resources could happen. This would be a great opportunity for those who would like to seek trouble. We cannot risk it," Old Man Khang explained as he thought about the consequences if they acted to catch the culprits. What a headache! Who would have thought that Tin and Can could easily plunge the world into another war! Truly problematic!

After discussing their next plans, Tin's grandfather asked about his grandson's spiritual core.

"Hmm...there is a way to recover Tin's spiritual core but..." Old Man Khang said as he scratched his nose.

After hearing that there was a way, Tin's grandfather became excited. Of course, he knew it would not be that easy at all. But as long as there is a way, there is hope!

"But what?" Tin's grandfather asked curiously.

"No one has found it."

"What do you mean?" Tri said as he frowned.

"I believe you know about the existence of soul fire?" Old Man Khang asked.

Tri nodded. Both he and his father knew about it. A mysterious core covered in mythical fire, the Soul Fire is said to be a Mythic grade item that allows a person who lost his or her spiritual core to be repaired or replaced with a better and powerful core. People knew that the soul fire existed, but no one knew where this item could be found. Since this was the case, a lot of people accepted that the existence of the soul fire was not true.

(A/N: This is from Ragnarok Online.)

"I happened to stumble upon an ancient scroll about the soul fire and where it could be found," Old Man Khang said as he took out an ancient scroll from his personal storage ring. When he opened the old scroll, a map was shown.

"This is the complete map of the Beast Gods' Dimension."

The Beast Gods' Dimension was said to be the place where the Beast Gods once resided and where the first Beast Summoner learned the arts of contracting beasts. After the Beast Gods left the dimension for an unknown reason, the first Beast Summoner was the one who managed the place. This dimension is equivalent to the size of Thailand itself. It was vast and consisted of different environmental ecosystems. Throughout his entire life, the first Beast Summoner contracted thousands of different unique beasts. Aside from this, he tried to learn more and explored the secrets of this particular dimension. After he died, no one was managing the dimension, so it became unstable. Due to this, the instability caused it to reappear in a specific area of Thailand every fifty years for one month. After hundreds of years have passed, various Beast Summoners have entered this dimension to loot unknown treasures and resources. They also attempted to make contracts with the powerful beasts that were living in the dimension. Since most of the resources and powerful beasts were already taken, this dimension only serves as a challenge and competition for Beast Summoners of top universities around the world today. Even though the dimension was mostly explored, the current maps about it are mostly incomplete. The one that Old Man Khang held seemed to be complete.

"If my years of research about the map is correct, the soul fire should be found towards the South, where the Beast God Suzaku, the Vermillion Bird, used to live," Old Man Khang said as he pointed the Southernmost part of the map .

(A/N: This is a picture of the mythical creature called Vermillion Bird. Not mine.)

"We're in luck since the Beast Gods' dimension should reappear next week. Unfortunately, since there's a restriction on who can enter, only those who are students of the select universities and below the Rainbow level could enter. In our case, since the dimension only reappears in our country, we have the privilege to send 10 students. Other foreign universities could only send 5."

"How do you select the students?" Tri asked.

"The Beast Summoners who are currently in the top 10 will automatically be sent," Old Man Khang answered.

"Then that means...," Tin's grandfather said as he became more hopeful as his expectations become higher. How lucky!

"Yes, Can would be part of it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey ya all! I watched the Avengers: Endgame the other day! IT WAS SOOOOOOOO GOOOOODDD!!!! I COULD REWATCH IT AGAIN!!!!
> 
> Who watched the new History series? I prefer the secondary couple than the main ones. I'm thinking of creating another fanfic about them after I finish this one.
> 
> Alright! That's all for now. Thank you! I'll see you next week!


	40. Bonus Chapter 3 - Tin's Perfect Dream

(Unedited)

"Tin wake up!" The sound of an enthusiastic woman echoed inside the room where Tin was lying down in his bed.

The voice of that woman sounded familiar. That very voice was exactly like hers.

"Mom?" Tin asked as he got up from bed immediately. When Tin saw that it was indeed his mom, he did not know how to react at all. It has been a long time since the last time he saw her. That last time was when she was taken away by the mysterious group of people. Now seeing her in person once again, Tin could not help but to feel nervous. The last thing that he knew was that he was trying to save Can, but that old man managed to defeat him. He was not quite sure what happened after. Was Can okay? Was this whole thing just a dream or a trick? While he was trying to figure out the answers to his questions, his gaze did not leave his mom.

"What's wrong? You look at me like I'm some sort of ghost," Tin's mom said as she crossed her arms while chuckling.

Tin could not help it but gulp. How should he act or talk to his mother? Should he say "I miss you? How are you? Where have you been? What happened to you exactly?"

Thinking about these questions, his mother approached him and sat next to him in his bed.

Touching Tin's forehead with her right hand, Tin's mother asked "You don't seem to be sick?"

That touch on his forehead felt warm. It was the warmth that he never felt for a long time. His eyes suddenly became watery as the expression on his face softened. He reached out to his mom and hugged her tightly.

"Mom," Tin shakily said.

His mom was confused. She was not sure why Tin was acting this way, but she hugged his son back as he caressed him. He must have had a bad nightmare.

"You're already a college student, but you still act this way. What would Can say when he sees you like this hm?" Mrs. Phiravich said as she tried to calm his son by teasing him.

"Can?" Tin immediately looked at his mom confusedly. How did his mother know about Can?

"You silly child, didn't you promise Can that the two of you will have a movie date today?" Mrs. Phiravich looked at her son, also confused.

"Date?" Tin asked. This event was becoming strange. He did not recall asking Can for a date.

"Don't tell me you forgot?" Tin's mother's eyebrows rose due to her amazement. She could not believe that her son would forget such an important matter. Tin's obsession towards Can is quite well-known. When something was related to Can, Tin would not fail to know it. All the things that would come out from Tin's mouth would be mostly about Can. So for Tin to forget about their date was rather surprising. Is it the end of the world?

Tin just looked at her mom. He was not quite sure how to respond, so he was silent.

His reaction caused his mom to laugh hard that she almost fell from his son's bed. She almost cried as she held the sides of her body from too much laughter.

"I...didn't...haha...would see....hahaha... the day that my son would be forgetful! Hahaha!" Tin's mom said as she continued to laugh. She tried to calm herself down from the laughter, but when she remembers his son's reaction, she couldn't help it but laugh more. This was just too good!

Seeing his mother's hysterical reaction, Tin could not help it but to laugh too.

"Why are you guys having fun without me?" the voice of another familiar man was heard in the room.

When Tin looked at the direction of the source of the voice, he saw his father wearing an expensive black suit. Looking at him, Tin's father seemed different from the father he knew. The person who he saw right now looked young, handsome, calm, and truly dignified. The other thing that he noticed was his bright genuine smile which he had never seen for a long time.

After the tragedy of his family, his father acted differently for the worse throughout the years. He never once smiled. Even if he did smile, it was with malicious intent. He never cared about anything aside from seeking revenge. In this 'dream', his father was different.

"Omg, honey! Your son did the most unbelievable thing right now! puhahaha!" Tin's mother started laughing once again. This time she fell on the floor.

 Tin's father came immediately to his wife's side and helped her stand.

"Are you okay?" he asked with concern.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine! But your son! There seemed to be a problem with his brain!" Finally, Tin's mother calmed down as she wiped the tears from her eyes while she continued to chuckle.

After mentioning the entire situation to her husband, Tin's father could not help it but also laugh. Because of this, a chain reaction was created. Tin's mother once again started laughing then Tin himself started chuckling. This was something that Tin never expected to happen. There was just pure happiness.

"Well, what are you waiting for son? You still have enough time to prepare. It wouldn't leave a good impression on Can. Remember, as your grandfather would always say, our family is very well-known at getting our partner's heart. If you truly love someone, then you would do everything to gain that person's heart completely. Don't let our family down," Tin's father reminded as he hugged his wife lovingly. The two of them were actually going out for a bit for a quick business meeting. They will be back at night.

"I understand," Tin said as he immediately got out of his bed. He quickly grabbed his phone that was on the table next to the bed and went straight to the bathroom. The first thing that he did was looked at the messages that he sent to Can. After reading, he now knew that he did ask Can for a date today.

Quickly, Tin took a bath and cleaned himself. After taking a bath and picking out a proper outfit for their date which will actually take place in the mansion itself, he called Can.

"Hello, Tin?" Can asked calmly but there was a hint of happiness.

"I'm going to pick you up from your house in a bit," Tin said as he smiled.

"Hmm..Okay. I'll wait for you then," Can replied.

After some moments of talking, Can ended the call. Tin excitedly took the key of his car and headed out to pick up Can. He seemed to slowly forget the truth.

As he arrived in front of Can's house, the little beast summoner has already been waiting for him in front of his gate. Can immediately smiled when he saw Tin's car approaching his house.

Can waved at Tin as he went inside his expensive car.

Before Tin could say anything back to Can, the little beast summoner reached out to him and kissed him on the lips.

Tin froze as he looked at Can who was blushing.

"You...you said that my kiss will be my payment every time I ask for a ride.....there..I-I paid you...," Can said as he stuttered. He looked away and stared outside the window. He did not want to look at Tin because he was quite embarrassed. Even though they have kissed multiple times, it would usually be Tin who would initiate the kiss. This was the first time that Can initiated the kiss. He did not know if he would be able to get used to it.

Seeing the embarrassed and adorable reaction from the boy, Tin could only have a huge smile on his face. Today is going to be a great day.

When the two arrived at the mansion, Tin made food for both of them. At this point, Tin was already considered proficient at cooking so the food that he cooked could be considered delicious. Can would always finish whatever Tin made. In any case, Can would always finish any kind of food whether it was made by Tin or not.

The three brunch dishes that Tin cooked were simple and easy to make. These were breakfast burrito, omelettes, and pancakes. (A/N: Brunch means BReakfast + lUNCH.)

(A/N: Omelette)

       

(A/N: Burrito)

       

(A/N: Pancake)

When Tin finished cooking, the two took the food into Tin's personal movie theater. The two of them will watch _Avengers: Endgame_.

Throughout the entire movie, Can was really focused on watching. Tin, on the other hand, would occasionally look at Can to see his expression as he eats while his eyes became watery due to some sad parts of the movie.

At one part of the movie, Tin held Can's right hand and it stayed that way the entire time even after the movie. Can did not really notice that he was grabbing to Tin's hand tightly since he was too focused on the movie. Not that Tin minded it. He liked having physical contact with Can.

"That was a really good movie," Can said happily as he looked at Tin to see his reaction about the movie.

"It was." Tin smiled as he looked at the enthusiastic boy. Not too bad for a date. As long as Can is happy, this date is already considered a success.

"So what do you want to do next?" Can asked.

In Tin's mind, when Can asked that question, he could only think of something indecent. Knowing Can, he was not thinking about that. He was wrong.

"Is there anything you want to do?" Tin curiously asked.

Suddenly, Can became embarrassed all of a sudden as he fidgeted and played with his hands. He could not say it after all! He thought that he would gather his courage to ask Tin to have that kind of 'fun'.

When Tin figured out what Can was trying to tell him, he did not hesitate and pulled him from his seat. The two headed into Tin's room and did their adult exercise.

After doing their exercise inside Tin's room, the two snuggled together even though the two of them were sweating.

Even though he felt tired, Can still felt energetic as he continued to discuss the contents of the movie that they watched. Apparently part of the reason why he wanted to have sex with Tin was that he felt sad because of the movie. According to their friends, Ae and Pete, having sex usually would cheer you up so Can wanted to see for himself if it was actually true. It did work!

"This felt unreal," Can said as he looked into his lover's eyes that still have a spark of lust and passion.

"Unreal huh?" Tin smirked as he started kissing Can's neck and nibble it.

"Ah!" Can gasped when Tin unexpectedly bit his neck which will surely leave a hickey.

After some struggling as Can tried to stop Tin from leaving  love marks all over his body, they took a nap. When they woke up, it was almost night time already. The two took a bath together and Tin let the little boy borrow his clothes afterwards.

When they came out of their room, Tin's parents have already prepared dinner. His grandfather was also present.

"Come..come! Let's eat!" Tin's mother said as she energetically lays down the food that she made. When she saw the hickeys on Can's neck, she whispered to her husband. The two of them started chuckling.

The young couple look at one another and nodded as they ignored the old couple. The two sat next to each other by the table. Tin's parents were on the other side of the table chatting to one another. His grandfather sat in the main seat of the table happily eating.

All of Tin's family members and his lover were all present at the dinner table as they chatted and laughed. This was the thing that Tin wanted the most. His family.

The warmth of the delicious food and family created a huge genuine smile on his face. He did not want this to end.

After dinner, Tin took Can home. The two were unwilling to let go of each other, but after promising that they would see each other again, they finally let go.

When Tin came home, he saw his mother at the balcony of their mansion looking at the star-filled night sky. Tin went to check on her. 

       

"Mom? It's already night, why aren't you in bed yet?" Tin asked with concern.

"Hmm...just enjoying the view one last time," Tin's mother said as she smiled gently.

"One last time? Mom, what are you talking about. This view won't go away," TIn jokingly said.

His mom turned around and looked at her son.

"Ahh you've grown so much, Tin," Mrs. Phiravich said as she hugged Tin tightly.

"Mom...are you okay?" Tin asked with confusion seen on his face.

"I'm alright. I'm okay." Mrs. Phiravich sighed as she caressed his son's hair to comfort him.

"You're a smart kid. You should already know the truth," she continued.

Tin knew figured what she was talking about, but he refused to accept it.

"No..no...this...this is the reality that I wanted. I don't want to let it go," Tin said as his mouth started to shake as fear and sadness took over him. He knew that this entire thing was not his true reality. It was fake, but he could not help it, but to want this fake reality instead.

"You stubborn kid," Tin's mother said as she wiped the tears from Tin's eyes.

"Mom, please don't go," Tin pleaded his mother as he hugged her tightly.

His mother did not stop Tin and hugged his son once again.

"Even if I don't want to leave, I cannot stay." Finally, Mrs. Phiravich who was trying to act strong the entire time finally broke down too. She started crying once again.

After Mrs. Phiravich died in reality, she used her remaining spiritual energy to visit her husband and Tin in their dreams. She created their dreams based on the things they truly wanted. In this case, both of her husband and son, wanted a complete family. It was hard for her emotionally because it has been a long time since she has seen them. At least before she leaves this world, she would visit them and talk to them.

"Now, listen to me, Tin. Even if I'm not here for you and your father, remember that you two are the most important people in my heart," Mrs. Phiravich said as she tried to calm down. Slowly, she started fading as she became translucent.

"No...no...mom...stay..," Tin pleaded even though he knew it was not possible. He started to cry even more.

"Tin, you should let go of the past and focus on the present. Right now there are people who need you. Especially, that person you just had sex with when your father and I were gone," Mrs. Phiravich said without any hesitation. This supposedly touching and sad last moments between mother and son became...awkward.

"I didn't see anything though I promise!" she said as she scratched her head awkwardly after realizing her mistake.

Tin who was crying earlier was now chuckling.

When she saw her son's reaction, she felt at ease. She knew that his son was not alone on this journey anymore. Even if she was gone, there were people around him who would take care of him.

"Tin," Mrs. Phiravich said as she looked at his son happily. Slowly, she put her right hand against her heart then moved it against Tin's heart.

(A/N: Let me visualize it for you guys. This is what I meant when "she put her right hand against her heart")

       

(A/N: This is what I meant when "..moved it against Tin's heart." Her hand was on Tin's chest. )

Immediately, Tin understood what that familiar gesture meant.

_"I'm always here to support you, so it's going to be okay. I might not be with you physically, but you will always be in my heart..."_

Finally, Mrs. Phiravich completely faded as her body turned into small orbs of blue light. Those orbs slowly flew away into the sky.

"Thank you, mom," Tin whispered as he looked at the night sky.

=====

When Can woke up from his sleep, the first thing that he saw was Tin's smile as he was staring at him.

"You look adorable when you sleep, Can."  

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can't believe it took me longer to finish this chapter XD
> 
> Anyways, tomorrow is the BTS concert! So it should be fun!
> 
> Thank you guys! I will see you next week!


	41. Chapter 36 - Sudden Confession

(unedited)

When Tin's father and Old Man Khang came back to Tin's room, the two were already awake and seemed to be lively. The other one was smiling while the other was blushing. It made Old Man Khang's mouth twitch. Do these two know how serious the problem that they have caused at all?

Sensing the presence of his father and Can's master, Tin returned to his normal serious expression and faced them. When Tin's eyes met his father's gaze, the two of them just nodded to one another. Even though Tin's father seemed to have changed after meeting Mrs. Phiravich for the last time, it did not mean that their father-and-son relationship would also easily change just like that. The two of them needed time to adjust, but they do not need to rush at all. As of now, they knew that they understood one another to a certain degree and that was good enough.

"How are you feeling?" Tri asked while still maintaining his serious expression.

"Better," Tin replied although he knew that his spiritual core was destroyed since he cannot feel any flow of spiritual energy throughout his body at all. Now he is what the society calls 'trash'. Without any power, he is no one. 

Looking at the situation, Tin knew more or less what happened. Still, he did not hesitate to ask his father what happened. Without wasting any time, his father retold only the information that was necessary for him to know.

"Can will try to retrieve the soul fire from the Beast Gods' Dimension in order to restore my spiritual core?" Tin looked at Can as he formed a fist with his hand as it shook with intensity. He did not want Can to suffer and to sacrifice himself for him. If only he was not weak, then this whole thing would not happen at all.

On the other hand, after learning what happened to Tin, Can was more determined to save him. It is now his turn to return the favor. He will sacrifice himself, even if there is a small chance of the soul fire actually existing. He will do it for Tin.

Old Man Khang nodded. "The Beast Gods' Dimension will open next week. This is the perfect opportunity for us to check whether the soul fire truly exists."

"I'll do it," Can said with a determined expression.

Tin wanted to stop Can, but he knew that the little beast summoner has already decided to go. There was no way to change his mind.

"As for the enemies who are involved in this case, we'll have to make sure to expose them where they would not be able to fight back," Old Man Khang continued as he rubbed his nose.

Taking the ancient scroll that contains the map of the Beast Gods' Dimension from his storage ring, Old Man Khang gestured his desciple to come with him to another room to talk about the place where the soul fire could be found. In any case, this kind of information is unnecessary for both Tri and Tin. The father and son seemed to also have something to discuss privately.

Before the two left the room, Can turned around to look at Tin.

"I'll do my best," Can said with a serious tone.

Tin smiled and said, "I know you will."

Can nodded and his expression relaxed a bit as he smiled. As long as Tin believes in him, he felt that he would be able to accomplish anything. He was more fired up than before.

As the two left to discuss their plan, the room became silent.

"How was your mother when you saw her?" Tri asked as he broke the silence.

"She was still the same. Cheerful, funny, and a loving mother," Tin said as a small smile was plastered on his face. There was a mixture of happiness and sadness in his smile.

"I wished she stayed longer," Tin continued.

"I wish that too," Tri said as he reminisced the time that his wife and he were together in the dream.

"It was thanks to your mom that I realized the mistakes that I have made especially towards you," he continued.

Tri approached his son who was still in the bed.

"I know that this wouldn't be enough to make for everything that I did and I don't expect you to forgive me, but this is a start. I'm really sorry, my son. I wished I could go back in time and fix my mistakes. I was too focused about your mom's disappearance and revenge that I forgot my family that was left behind." Tin's father who never expressed himself finally told his son what he was feeling. His eyes became watery, but he tried to maintain his strong image for his son.

When Tin heard his father call him son once again after a long time, he felt that his emotions were going to burst out of his body. Although he felt this way, just like his father, Tin suppressed his emotions and kept his strong image even though he was teary-eyed too. His grandfather who was silent the whole time was actually the one crying with the sounds of sobbing from the necklace. His son and his grandson have now reconciled once again! This was truly beautiful! It was thanks to his daughter-in-law!

The moment of reconciliation was interrupted when the two talked about the kidnapping incident of Mrs. Phiravich. When she talked to Tri in his dream, the two discussed about what happened throughout the years that she was gone. According to Mrs. Phiravich, she was kept in a small unknown secluded field that has a barrier. Unlike the thought of being tortured, the mysterious people actually took care of her. The field where she resided looked way luxurious. It had a small house, a small pond, and a garden. They gave her special treatment like she was some sort of royalty. She even had personal servants. She was able to do everything she wanted except for wanting freedom. At first, she did not know why she was kept in that place at all, but after hearing the gossips from her personal servants that she befriended, she learned that she was the key to unlock a seal that would change the balance of the world. She did not understand at first what they meant by key, but she knew it did not mean any good. She tried so many times to escape, but she failed.

During this week, for the first time after so many years, she was let out from the field and was led to a mysterious cave. Before she could even enter the cave, she already felt a terrifying pressure inside. It caused her to tremble that it made her body weak. The mysterious people that took her away in the beginning,  carried her inside the cave. It was cold and dark. The only source of light was the torches that were carried by the mysterious people. As they went deeper in the cave, the stronger the pressure has become. That pressure felt evil that it gave her goosebumps.

When they finally arrived at their destination, the mysterious group surrounded her in a circle and performed some sort of ritual. It was then that she realized that her life would end there. From a distance in the darkness, two giant red eyes emerged and looked at her as if it wanted to kill her. She was scared. She wanted to get away from that place as much as possible, but she could not do it at all no matter how hard she tried.

After the ritual was completed, a mysterious red circle formation with unknown symbols lit up on the ground and surrounded the cave. It was then when she saw a terrifying beast that was sealed. Witnessing the giant beast, she did her last struggle. But before she could even think of struggling, her spiritual energy was already being taken away which caused her to weaken. It was at that very moment her life ended. Thankfully, when she died, her soul contained a small trace of spiritual energy. She used it to find and talk to her family one last time which she was successfully able to do.

When Tin heard his father explain what happened to his mother, he could only grab the blanket that was covering his body intensely. His father tried to comfort his son by placing his(Tri) hand on his(Tin) shoulder. He then proceeded to caress his son's back.

"Your mother is in a better place now. She doesn't have to suffer anymore," Tri said gently to his son.

Tin looked at his father. He then closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he nodded.

"I know."

"Did she talk about who could possibly be behind this or the location of the place?" Grandfather Phiravich, who was sobbing, finally asked. The three already knew that the beast in that cave is the King of the Beasts: Gloom Under Night. 

(A/N: Source from Ragnarok Online)

"No, not at all. But she said that it was a mixture of different unknown clans and groups. It was not only B.S.G. When she died, she could only use the spiritual energy to find us," Tri answered.

"Hmm by the looks of it, the second step of releasing the beast has been fulfilled. Our situation is becoming more problematic." Not only do they have to deal with the people who wanted to harm Tin and Can, but they also have to deal with a bigger threat, the king of the beast. What a headache!

(A/N: Check Chapter 25: Upcoming War for reference about the King of the Beast)

"We'll deal with the beast later since we still don't have any clues about its whereabouts. The group behind this is truly elusive," Tri calmly said but there was a hint of anger and frustration in his tone. Tin and his grandfather agreed.

While the Phiravich family were discussing, Old Man Khang was giving careful instructions to Can on how to navigate the Beast Gods' Dimension. Since the journey here was quite dangerous and not easy, careful planning was necessary. Can listened intently to his master's words and took notes of the places he had to be careful about when he enters the dimension. After giving him instructions, Old Man Khang gave Can a warning.

"Not only do you have to deal with the dangers of the dimension itself, but also with the foreign students from different universities. Even in students of our university who are going with you, you have to be careful with them."

In the past events in the Beast Gods' Dimension, there were instances where a group of students will mysteriously disappear. The initial reason for the disappearance would be due to the powerful beasts, the sudden change of the environment, or some other accidents. Of course, everyone knew the reason behind this disappearance. Other groups must have killed them. One has to know that the students who were sent to Beast Gods' Dimension were not there just for a field trip or a friendly competition. Aside from looting items and taming beasts that were left, they were sent there to prove themselves they were the best. Killing other students is one way to prove it. Although it is prohibited, the students still do it in secret.  Who would be able to prove that a student killed the other? One could easily blame the beasts or some sort of accident to get away from killing other students. Since there is no high authority who could accompany the students inside the dimension due to restriction, the people with high authority could only rely on the students' statements. 

After hearing these words, Can realized that he was in a more dangerous position. Still, he was not discouraged at all. He would do everything in his own power to overcome these obstacles and save Tin.

Seeing his disciple's dedication, Old Man Khang felt satisfied. He believes in his disciple's ability to succeed. If he did not believe in him, would he be his disciple in the first place?

The days passed by quite peacefully and fast. It was already the day of the event. All of the preparation necessary for Can's trip was prepared. The ancient scroll and other useful items were given to him by his master. Before Can left for the trip, he went back to Tin's room to say his goodbye.

When he entered the room, he could see Tin sleeping in his bed. As he approached Tin, his heart started to beat faster. Should he say it before he leaves, just in case?

The little beast summoner's footsteps became heavier as he became slower. He was really nervous. When he was at the side of Tin's bed, he observed the person's facial features. He looked peaceful despite what he had been through. Can wanted to get closer to his face. He thought that it was now or never. Even if he was just sleeping, he thought this was the perfect time to do it! Although it would be better to tell him when he was awake, he thought that Tin would just tease him and Can was not prepared for any of that yet.

Taking a deep breath to calm down, Can closed the distance between his mouth and Tin's ear.

"I...I like you too..." Can whispered. His heartbeat suddenly sped up that it felt that it was going to burst. Still, he felt satisfied that he was able to convey his feelings to Tin even if he was sleeping. In any case, he would tell Tin how he feels when he is more confident about himself after he returns from his journey. This confession right now was more of a practice to him.

He did not know that the moment he entered the room, the person who was in bed was already awake and just pretending to sleep.

"I know you do," Tin whispered smiling as he pulled Can to his embrace.

Can was startled. This prince was actually awake the whole time! He felt betrayed!

Can felt embarrassed all of a sudden. He wanted to escape and hide somewhere, but the person in front of him is not willing to let him go.

Before Tin finally let Can go, he gave him a kiss on the lips. This action gave warmth to their hearts.  The kiss was not too long, but it was not too short either. It was just right.

"Be careful and come back safely," Tin said gently and lovingly as he looked directly into Can's eyes.

"I...will..." Can said with conviction.

"I'll make sure of that," he continued with a serious tone.

Tin smiled at him, which caused Can to realized what just happened. When Tin finally let him go, Can turned back and got out of the room as fast as he could. He scratched his head as he grabbed a piece of bread from the kitchen and ate it. That was embarrassing!

As soon as the door was closed, Tin could not help it but grin and chuckle. He put both of his hands behind his head as he recalled the confession by Can.

Finally, Can is his now officially. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, Everyone! I'm sorry for the delay but here ya go!
> 
> So I was in BTS concert last week. IT WAS GREEEAAATTT!!!
> 
>  
> 
> I mostly took videos. I was really far away but I still enjoyed it! I wish I was closer!
> 
>  
> 
> Anyways thank you guys! I will see you next week!


	42. Chapter 37 - Enter the Beast Gods' Dimension

(unedited)

Seeing his disciple in an embarrassing state, Old Man Khang could not help it but shake his head. His disciple seemed to be already caught by that sly beast inside the bedroom. 

"Ehem!" Old Man Khang coughed.

The deliberate loud cough caused Can to momentarily set aside what happened in that room. He needed to focus on the event right now.

"Mastew, I'm rewdy," Can said as he finished eating the last piece of loaf bread on his hand.

"You ill-mannered kid! Finish the food that's in your mouth before you talk," Old Man Khang said as he scratched his head. This disciple of his is a glutton who likes food! If it is not related to Beast Summoning or Tin, he would start talking about food! In any case, Old Man Khang made sure that his disciple has enough delicious food for his entire trip in the storage ring that he gave to his disciple.

Can nodded and swallowed the bread in his mouth. He took a glass full of water and drank it.

"I'm ready!" Can said as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Good! Now, since the media from all over the world will be gathering by the entrance of the teleportation area to the Beast Gods' Dimension, I have to showcase my disciple!" Old Man Khang mischievously smiled as his eyes were filled with glitter in them.

 

(A/N: His expression was like this.)

Can could not help it but feel like something horrible was about to happen as he gulped.

In an instant, Old Man Khang showed a customized uniform identical to his, but smaller. Can immediately froze and his mouth twitched.

His master was wearing traditional South Korean attire: hanbok.  It has a deep brown colored Jeogori with floral patterns, pure white sokgui, black baji and kkotsin with different colored flower embroidery.

Although there was no dress code for this kind of event, why would his master wear such ridiculous attire? There should be a limit on how ridiculous he should dress! Even if Can was bad in fashion, he still knew what was considered appropriate to wear. His master was in a different category of being bad at fashion. Also, why do we have to wear an attire from South Korea? Are we not representing Thailand? Also, we are supposed to keep a low-profile during this event! This attire will just grab everyone's attention! The more Can thought about this, the more he became confused. His master is truly weird! He hoped that there was an actual dress code!

"Master this...you want me to wear it?" Can asked as he felt that the sweat on his forehead forming.

"Yes! This is high-quality that has good protection against physical attacks. Aside from its defensive properties, it will look really good on you! You wouldn't mind wearing it right?" Old Man Khang said with an implied threatening tone.

Even though Can would like to argue about the attire with his master, he knew he would not be able to win against him. In any case, his master put a lot of effort in this quite expensive outfit with high defensive capabilities. The only thing he could do was not to let the appearance bother him too much and just accept his fate.

After taking some time to properly wear his own hanbok with the help of his master, the two of them were teleported by Tao Gunka in front of the entrance to the portal.

To be exact the two of them landed in front of the entrance of one of the most famous temples in Thailand: Wat Chaiwatthanaram. The hundreds of years rich history of the ancient temple were evident by its magnificent unique structure and decay. This temple is still well-preserved and thousands of tourists would come to visit. Aside from its historical significance, people would come and hope to witness a quite important event that only occurs once every fifty years: the emergence of a portal to Beast Gods' Dimension. Inside the temple, there is a red portal that would emerge when the appropriate time comes for the Beast Gods' Dimension to appear.

(A/N: Try to google Wat Chaiwatthanaram and look at its beauty!)

As of now the entrance to the temple are packed with people from the media, foreigners, participants, and tourists. The students from different countries who were going to enter the dimension were being interviewed by different reporters. It was a quite lively atmosphere in the early morning.

As soon as Master Khang and Can appeared in front of the entrance of the temple, like a herd of sheep, the reporters immediately stopped what they were doing and ran towards the master and disciple. Thankfully, the special security force of L.B.C University easily blocked everyone who tried to get near the two of them.

Everyone must know that Master Khang could be considered as an international celebrity. He is one of the most powerful people in the world after all and only a fool would not know this fact. Aside from his power, he is also well-known for his oddities such as his sense of fashion and not having an interest at recruiting a disciple.

Looking at his attire, as usual, Master Khang did not fail to impress everyone. But this was not something that the reporters were interested right now. They were interested in his disciple who was wearing the same attire as him!

A tall beautiful female reporter asked, "Master Khang, could you tell us about more you disciple?"

"How did you prepare Can for this event!?" another reporter asked.

"Can do you feel nervous!?"

"Can how do you feel about the attire that you are wearing today? Do you feel proud!?"

All the reporters who were surrounding the master and disciple simultaneously asked different questions. The continuous bombardment of questions to both Can and his master made Can feel like he would have a headache. Thankfully his master was able to answer in his stead.

The foreign students and the people who were with them had mixed emotions after seeing the two. There were people who were jealous and angry for stealing their spotlights. There were people who seemed to have bad intentions who were smiling. Others were just indifferent about the situation.

After some time, Master Khang gestured the security force that was surrounding them to start moving the reporters away from the two of them.

As the two moved away from the crowd and went inside the temple, they eventually met with the rest of Team Thailand. The top 10 beast summoners of the L.B.C university were present and waiting for them. Naturally, Ae, Techno, and Kengkla were there. Aside from Team Thailand, other teams from other countries were already there and prepared to enter.

When Ae saw Can and Master Khang going inside the temple, he immediately ran towards them.

"Can!" Ae shouted as he stood in front of Can. When he faced Master Khang, he immediately performed a wai as a sign of respect. The old man reciprocated as he also performed a wai with a smile.

"What happened to you? I haven't seen you these past few days?" Ae asked curiously. Even though he was worried about Can for not communicating with him these past few days, seeing that he looked fine, his worries lessened. Speaking of Can, why was he wearing a traditional Korean costume? He wanted to ask Can about his attire, but seeing that his master was wearing the same thing, he did not dare ask. He knew that Can's master has an odd sense of fashion, so it was most likely that Master Khang wanted Can to wear the same attire as him. How unfortunate for his friend.

Master Khang looked at Can. The master and disciple had an agreement not to mention the events that happened these past few days as to not endanger his friends' lives. The lesser people who knew this situation, the better. As of now, only a few people knew the truth. Tin's situation of him being a fugitive just like his father was only known by the higher-ups of E.A aside from Master Khang, Can, and the fugitives themselves. The reason for this was because, if E.A. lets the public know the truth, it would make the E.A. in Thailand seemed weak and unstable. Other E.A. branches from other countries might take this opportunity to take over and control E.A. in Thailand. The higher-ups of E.A. here in Thailand could only rely on themselves to solve this problem.

"My master took me to secluded training in his own dimension. I was unable to contact anyone from the outside. Sorry," Can said as he scratched his head. He did not want to lie to his closest friend at all, but it was necessary. He cannot let anyone who is close to him to get involved.

"Ahh, I see. Hmm, how about Tin? Pete was trying to contact him, he wasn't answering either," Ae continued to ask. He didn't care much about Tin's well-being, to be honest. It was just that Pete was worried about him.

"Ohh Tin is currently in secluded training at the moment too. Don't worry he's okay," Can said smiling as he pretended that everything was fine.

Can tried to change the topic as he asked about the whereabouts of Kengkla and Techno. Ae pointed towards the direction where he came from earlier. Before joining the others, Master Khang told Can that he would not be able to join them since only the participants could stay inside the temple.

"Good luck," Master Khang said as he confidently smiled while he patted Can's head.

"I'll do my best master," Can said with determination.

Joining his other teams, Can immediately noticed the hostile stares from two people in the team. Those two people were none other than Trump and Pannin. After their humiliating defeat during the first day of the Beast Summoner Ranking Competition, the two of them vowed to take revenge on Can. After they recovered thanks to the expensive medicinal potions that they took, they were able to compete on the fourth day of the competition. They managed to defeat the beast summoners who were in the top 9 and top 10 back then. During the awarding ceremony, Can did not see them since both Pannin and Trump had some sort of emergency.

Knowing that Trump was involved with his kidnapping, Can would need to be more careful around him. He also needs to be careful around Pannin too since the two of them seemed to join forces as they were standing next to each other.

"Can, we haven't seen you in a while! You albino monkey!" Techno said as he started teasing Can.

"Pffft! What's with that costume by the way?" he continued as he started laughing.

Can tried his best to ignore Techno's teasing.

"I was in secluded training with my master. He wanted me to wear this. It doesn't look that bad," Can said.

"It doesn't look bad, but you look out of place," Kengkla answered.

Can looked around and saw that everyone else was wearing clothing that is appropriate for the event. He was the only one...cosplaying. He noticed that everyone was looking at him with mixed feelings. When he looked at Team South Korea, he could see that the entire team was frowning at him. He was not sure whether they were angry about the fact that he was wearing their traditional clothing for this event or it was solely because of him or probably both. Once again, Can tried to ignore those stares and focused on the event.

As Can continued chatting with his friends and to the other people of the team, the veteran beast summoners who were in charge started to officially initiate the event. They talked about the rules and the dangers that lurk in the dimension. Of course, the participants already knew all of these before they came here. They would not come here in the first place not knowing what was at stake. Most of the participants were quite confident about their skills; they could not wait to show the results of their hard training on the real battlefield. Even though this was the case, a lot of them never experienced being on the real battlefield. The difference between an amateur and experienced beast summoners would immediately show during the entirety of the event.

The veteran beast summoners, who were standing on a tall stone platform, looked and assessed the students. Some of them could not help but shake their heads. Based on their assessment, some of the students would not last for one day at all. A bunch of weaklings! They wondered how these students were allowed to participate!

Thankfully, a lot of the other students looked very exceptional, especially from the teams of U.S.A, Taiwan, South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, etc. They were particularly interested in Team Thailand and wanted to know how well this team would perform. They were also interested in how Master Khang's new disciple would survive the entire event. Although this was the case, they did not expect too much from Can to begin with, so their expectations on him were quite low. A lot of the students participating here have done exceptional things that could be considered superior to Can. To them, Can was just an overhyped student because he was a disciple of Master Khang.

"The portal is now stable! Each team could now proceed and be teleported to the Beast Gods' Dimension!" one of the veteran beast summoners shouted from the platform.

As soon as the veteran beast summoners finished talking, different teams rushed towards the huge red portal in order to get to the dimension first. But just because a team got into the dimension first, it did not mean succeeding, so Team Thailand and other powerhouses stayed behind and let the other teams go first. When the crowd lessened, the other powerhouses proceeded to get teleported. The last one to enter was Team Thailand.

When Can entered the portal with his team, his surroundings started to blur then it turned dark all of a sudden. When he opened his eyes, his five senses were still trying to recover from the strain of being teleported. As soon as he regained his senses, he was unable to check his surroundings when a sudden piercing scream was heard not too far from where they were standing. Something does not feel right already. There seemed to be a fight between two teams.

"What's the meaning of this, Team U.S.A? For you to deliberately attack our group in the open and with everyone else here to witness? Have you lost your minds?" the leader of Team South Korea screamed in anger.

"I.. I don't know what's happening. My contracted beast just started attacking on his own!" the team leader for U.S.A shouted back as the sweat on his forehead formed. The other members of team U.S.A did not know what to do since their leader has already started attacking the other team. Whether their leader was lying or not, the fact that he attacked meant that the other team would retaliate. If that's the case, then they would also initiate to attack the other team. Even though there were rules established by the organizers of this event, no one would really follow them when they enter the dimension. Power is considered the only rule here!

In an instant, the entire team U.S.A has decided to fight team South Korea.

There was a sneer from the leader of Team South Korea.

"We get it, you want to get rid of us! If that's what you want then we will not hold back! Everyone! Do a short-range attack," the leader of South Korea said as he rushed forward with his other teammates. As they rushed forward, they immediately transformed into their contracted beasts form. The leader of South Korea transformed into a Legendary grade offensive type beast while his other four teammates transformed into Epic grade offensive type beasts. Team South Korea is a powerhouse that is well-known for its powerful coordinated short-range  attack. Their combined power and precision could be considered one of the best in the beast summoning world.

Even though they are powerful, Team U.S.A is also another powerhouse. Unlike Team South Korea, Team U.S.A is well-known for its long-range attacks and strong defenses. With one Legendary grade defensive type beast and four Epic grade offensive type beasts, the members of team U.S.A also transformed into their contracted beasts. They disregarded the fact that the Legendary beast of the leader of team U.S.A, lost control a minute ago.

With two powerhouses colliding with one another, the other teams who witnessed the fight could not help it but be amazed and feel lucky. With every attack from Team South Korea and defense from Team U.S.A, a huge tremor on the ground could be felt. It just showed how destructive these two powerhouses are!

None of the teams would want to break up the fight. Why would they? They could easily die from the impact of the battle if they intervened. Besides who did not want to get rid of their competitors? If these two powerhouses managed to kill or injure one another, then it would benefit the other teams who are not as powerful as them. Knowing this, the other teams started moving in different directions to start looking for materials and beasts to tame.

The event has barely started and there was already a huge commotion happening already.

Meanwhile, Ae, who is the acting leader of Team Thailand, took his entire team to the mountains far away from other teams. He suggested to his team that they would go find resources in the mountains first. Everyone agreed.

Can, on the other hand, has been thinking of a way to separate from his team in order to get to his actual destination in the southernmost part of the dimension.

The two people not too far away from Can has also started to execute their plan. They looked at one another and nodded as they quickly gazed at the little beast summoner with wicked and sinister smiles on their faces. 

 Can Rathavit must die in this place!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! So I'm back again! I'm not entirely done with my exams, but I have more free time now, so here it is! Hope you guys enjoy it. I will publish another chapter probably tomorrow. Bye!


	43. Chapter 38 - Flora: The Man-Eating Plant

(unedited)

After a few hours of traveling, the members of team Thailand was able to arrive at the foot of the mountain thanks to their contracted beasts that flew them. 

At the mountain that is found in the eastern part of the map, there is a river. The people who went there before said that there was an abundance of resources that could be found on the surrounding of that river. Since team Thailand has ten members, it would be beneficial if they go there first since all of them would like to get some type of materials that would help them for leveling, contracting a beast, or creating precious equipment. Even though this was the case, the journey was not considered an easy task. They have to be careful about the dangers lurking around the river since apparently there is a beast that guards the river. Aside from this beast, there are also other teams that might ambush them. Since this is the case, Ae decided that they should not fly directly to the river and instead start at the foot of the mountain. This way, they would not attract unnecessary attention from other teams and powerful beasts. Also, they would not be too vulnerable to surprise enemy attacks.

"We should be able to get there in three hours by foot," Ae said as he looked at his incomplete map.

Everyone nodded. The members of the team have confidence in Ae's capabilities as a leader since he is the most powerful in the team. Besides, he will be the one leading B.S.G in Thailand! Who does not want to be on his good side? Also, he is very capable, charismatic, intelligent, and courageous! Everyone felt safe and confident that the entire team will succeed at surviving this event for a month. They felt like they could do everything!

Meanwhile, Can was waiting for an opportunity to separate from the team. But he realized that since it is just the first day, it would be better if he sticks with them for now as he tries to adapt to his environment. Traveling to the South will take a few days and Can has around four weeks to execute his plan. He also wanted to grab some resources while he was here anyway since a lot of rare materials could only be found in this dimension. Can would not miss this opportunity.

While they were walking, some of the members found some rare plants along the way which they happily took. Thankfully none of them fought over these rare plants. They had an agreement that the first one to find and collect a material will be his or hers.

Unbeknownst to the members of team Thailand, when they collected these rare plants, they did not think that there was a beast guarding them.

As they continued to walk up the mountain and kept collecting rare plants, there were thick black vines full of thorns that were slowly following them. Since the forests of the mountain are currently being covered in white mist, no one has noticed that the vines on the ground were actually moving.

When they stopped for a moment to allow other members to collect materials, Ae heard rustling sounds around the grasses. Thanks to Ae's sharp senses, he made everyone stop what they were doing.

"Everyone! Form a circular defensive formation! NOW!" Ae commanded as he took a defensive talisman from his infinite storage bag. He unsealed the talisman with a drop of his blood from his thumb that he bit. Unfortunately, he was a step too late. The vines noticed the sudden changes in the team's movements and immediately grabbed one of the members of the team.

"AHHH! Help me!" Trump shouted. A vine wrapped itself around Trump and immediately retreated far away from the team deeper in the forest. The rest of team Thailand could only look pitifully at Trump who was taken away. Some sighed in relief. They were thankful that it was not them who were taken away.

"Tsk!" Pannin clicked her tongue. It is always the weakest one who gets in trouble.

After Trump was taken, a defensive barrier was quickly formed and surrounded the entire team.  This barrier would only last for 3 minutes but it was enough time for Ae and his teammates to summon their offensive and defensive type beasts. After they deal with the vines, they would rescue Trump.

Quickly, summoning his Seven Deadly Sins Beasts, the rest followed and summoned their fighting beasts.

The other vines started attacking. Thankfully the team did not let these vines distract them. After 3 minutes, everyone in the team was able to summon their beasts.

As they defended themselves from the attacking thick vines, the vines kept on coming. With every strike of their beasts' weapons and magic attacks, the vines just kept on multiplying and attacking. For every second that they stay there, the more dangerous the situation has become. If this continues, the vines will overwhelm them and they might not be able to save Trump in time. As they continued to fight, Can noticed that the vines were moving away from Valkyrie. Currently, Valkyrie is holding her lance that is covered with purple flame. As she moves forward to pierce the pesky vines, those things would move away from her as if they were avoiding the fire. That's it!

"They are afraid of the fire!" Can shouted.

Ae immediately understood. In the team, only three people have beasts that have fire elements: Can, Techno, and Ae. Both Ae and Can's fire elemental beasts could only do a single attack. Techno's beast, Kasa, could do an area attack. The problem was that Techno did not summon Kasa. He summoned another beast instead. In any case, no one knew that these type vines were weak against fire.

(A/N: This is Kasa from Ragnarok online. Just learned that you can add GIFs here.)

"Techno! Quick summon Kasa. Can use Valkyrie's Holy Dome to protect us for a bit" Ae shouted. From Ae's assessment, if the vines could easily overwhelm them like this, the beast that must be guarding this area could be around a middle Legendary tier. Currently, the most powerful beast in Team Thailand is Ae's Seven Deadly Sins Beasts that is in the lower Legendary tier. The rest of his teammates have Epic grade beasts. If only Can could summon Thanatos, they might have the upper hand. Unfortunately, they do not have a contract. Thankfully, these vines are weak against fire so they might still have a chance.

Can quickly formed a huge defensive barrier around his team. With the training that he had with his master, his spiritual energy control has improved tremendously, so if he wanted to, he would be able to maintain the barrier as long as he wanted. The only problem was that if the barrier is hit by strong Demonic attacks, the barrier could break. Thankfully, these vines seemed to only have the Earth element which is weak to fire. He was wrong.

When the Holy Dome was created, the vines suddenly became more aggressive and fierce. They started hitting the barrier simultaneously. These fierce attacks immediately caused the defensive holy barrier to have cracks. This only meant one thing.

"These vines don't only have the Earth element, but also the Demonic element! What kind of beast are we actually facing?" one of the members of the team shouted as he became more nervous.

Can attempted to repair the barrier, so he used more of his spiritual energy. Although he was repairing the barrier, he could not keep up with the powerful attacks of the vines. Unfortunately, not even a minute has passed when a hole in the barrier was created. The hole was enough for some of the vines to get into. Knowing that one of the members of the team was about to summon a Fire element beast, they quickly tried to kill Techno. Kengkla saw that one of the vines was about to attack Techno from behind, so he quickly blocked the attack with his body. At the same time, Techno successfully summoned Kasa.

_"Fire Storm!"_

Kasa flew above the sky leaving bits of fire on the ground. It opened its mouth and a strong powerful fire came out that covered the pesky vines. Instantly, those vines that were burned turned into ashes. Those that did not get hit by the fire immediately retreated from the direction they originally came from.

"Quick, we have to save Trump!" Pannin shouted angrily as she ran towards the direction of the vines. Her beasts, Naght Sieger and Entweihen Crothen, followed her.

(A/N: Naght Sieger and Entweihen Crothen from Ragnarok Online respectively. Reference from Chapter 18.  )

"Don't rush!" Ae shouted, but Pannin and some of the members were already gone.

"These idiots!" Techno said in annoyance. He looked behind him and saw that Kengkla was not moving from his position.

"Kengkla, what's wrong?" Techno asked as he grabbed the man's shoulder. When Kengkla faced him, the color of his face seemed to pale. There was blood gushing out from his mouth. He was holding the upper part of his chest that was bleeding with his other hand. He was hit.

"KENGKLA! What happened to you!?" Techno nervously and worriedly asked. Beads of sweat started to fall from Kengkla's forehead as his vision started to blur. Although it seemed that he did not lose a lot of blood, he suddenly fainted. His body fell, but Techno caught him on time as he embraced him. Techno lay Kengkla down. It seemed that he was most likely poisoned.

"No..no..Kengkla wake up." Techno was on the verge of crying as he patted the unconscious man's face.

Ae grabbed his bag and took out different antidote potions. He had to check what kind of poison that Kengkla got first before he provides him an antidote. This process can take some time.

"Can, take Kasa with you and helped the others out. We'll follow you in a bit," Ae said as he checked Kengkla's pulse. Can wanted to stay, but he knew he would only be in the way, so he could only agree.

Can left his other friends and ran towards his other teammates with Valkyrie and Kasa.

(A/N: Just wanted to show Valkyrie gif.)

As he arrived at the scene where the vines originally came from, some of his teammates were already grabbed by the other vines. Those who were not grabbed were fighting. Some were already injured.

Looking at it, the area was truly chaotic. In the middle of this mess was a huge plant, the size of a tall tree. The head of the plant had a huge mouth with large teeth that were similar to humans. This plant was the beast that controls the vines.

(A/N: Flora from Ragnarok Online.)

Can remembered this beast. It was mentioned by his Master when they were talking about the different beasts that can be found in this dimension. This beast is the man-eating plant: Flora. 

Flora is considered a Legendary beast with Earth and Demonic elements. This beast used to only have Earth element, but since no one maintained the dimension after the First Beast Summoner died, it naturally absorbed impurities. As it absorbed more impurities throughout the years, the Demonic element became part of it naturally.

Even though this beast is considered Legendary, it is not quite known for its power. It was labeled as legendary due to its capability of revival. After Flora has been defeated, another Flora will grow. It was one of the only known few beasts that could regain life after it died. Aside from this, when one defeats Flora, a rare seed would come out. This rare seed called the Seed of Flora could help a beast transform and level up. This rare seed could only be used by a specific type of beast: collector beast. Gucci was the only collector beast in Can's contracted beasts. If he gets the rare seed and let it grow into a plant, it would allow Gucci to transform into a human. In his human form, Gucci would have an easier time collecting resources and level up faster. Before he could even think of this, he must defeat Flora first.

(A/N: This is how I picture the seed. Original name: Mysterious seed -Ragnarok Online)

Can instructed Kasa to use Fire Storm once again. The bird, once again, flew up in the sky and made a rain of fire towards the vines and Flora. Sensing that fires from the sky will hit Flora, it recalled all of its vines to form a thick barrier. The vines that were holding his teammates including Trump who was unconscious, were finally let go.

The fire hit the thick barrier made of vines. As the vines turned into ashes, Flora kept adding more new vines to the barrier to reinforce it. If this continues, Kasa would get exhausted. Since Can could not transfer his spiritual energy to Kasa since it is not his contracted beast, he had to quickly end the battle. All he needed to do was to find an opening to destroy Flora.

Can instructed Kasa to only concentrate its attack in a specific part of the barrier to create an opening. This plan has its risks. If Kasa only concentrates its attack in one place, there is a potential that other vines would try to attack Kasa from other sides. Thankfully, it was not the case.

Flora decided to concentrate adding vines to the part of the barrier that was being attacked by the bird. Due to this, some parts of the barrier became vulnerable to attacks. Can used this opportunity to attack. With his spiritual energy, Can poured most of it to Valkyrie.

_"Cannon Spear!"_

With a tremendous surge of spiritual energy, Valkyrie's power multiplied. She concentrated the spiritual energy to her lance. The purple flame that covered it became bigger and the color became deeper. Valkyrie positioned herself to gain momentum as she focused on her target. With a swift and strong motion, her lance was thrown with so much power. As it flew, a huge force was left behind that even made Valkyrie move backward as she stood her ground.

"SSSSSHHH!" Flora screeched in pain from the impact. The lance pierced its head that caused it to be engulfed in purple fire. Not long after, its body fell to the ground as it burned to ashes. The only thing that was left behind by the man-eating plant aside from the burned ashes and lifeless vines was the rare Seed of Flora.

"Th-the beast is dead..." one of Can's teammates said.

"Can you did it!" the other teammates shouted happily.

Can sighed in relief when all of a sudden, a group of five people emerged from the shadows.

"Not so fast, team Thailand," a buff man with a scar on his face said while he and his team sneered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PHEW! Finished! I hope you guys enjoy this! I'll see you guys next week!


	44. Chapter 39 - True Leader

(unedited)

Earlier when team Thailand engaged in fighting with Flora in the deeper parts of the forest, an enemy team that was not too far away from their location sensed them. This foreign team from the Philippines followed and observed the battle from a safe distance as its members waited for a perfect opportunity to attack. 

Specializing in reconnaissance, assassination, and concealment skills, team Philippines managed to get ahead of everyone with ease in the beginning. Just like team Thailand, this team would also like to get resources from the river located at this mountain. According to the intelligence that they have gathered before coming to this dimension, there was an ancient blue gemstone in the river that could be used to summon a legendary water elemental beast.

(A/N: You already know where this is :) Ragnarok Online)

Although team Philippines was great with reconnaissance and concealment skills, the team lacked strength. The leader, who was the most powerful one in this team, only had a High Epic grade contracted beast. The rest of his teammates had a mix of Epic and Rare grade beasts. This was the reason why they would like to attain the ancient gemstone from the river.

Coincidentally, on their way to the river, they learned about team Thailand's presence in the forest. Team Philippines could not fight them directly since they knew there was a huge gap of strength between their teams. Thankfully, the legendary beast Flora seemed to notice the powerful presence of team Thailand and decided to attack them. Knowing the capabilities of the legendary beast, the leader of the Philippines team concluded that even if team Thailand managed to destroy Flora, the damage to their team would not be small. 

Right after the battle between the two sides, team Philippines would immediately seized this opportunity to finish off the entire team as soon as possible. They were confident that they would be able to defeat them, so they did not decide to hide themselves further from team Thailand.

Can and his teammates, who believed that they were safe, would now have to face another threat. How could they be so unlucky!

Most of the members of team Thailand were injured and exhausted. Can just also used all of his spiritual energy. Unfortunately, it would take some time for him to regain enough spiritual energy to fight his enemies. Ae and the others have still not arrived and their current situation turned for the worse.

"Your team did a great job at defeating this legendary beast," the team captain of the Philippines team said as he smiled while applauding them. Meanwhile, one of his teammates took the Seed of Flora on the ground and examined it.

Pannin clicked her tongue. It was easy to tell that these people were hiding and waiting for an opportunity to attack them. They are a bunch of cowards!

A short-haired female member of the Phillippines team heard Panin's insulting gesture.

"You b*tch! Where are your manners?" the irritated short-haired girl said.

"Puhaha!" Pannin laughed condescendingly. Even if she was injured, she would not back down easily, especially with those people who think they have won.

"Manners? Why should I respect an ugly b*tch like you and your sly trashy team? Don't pretend that we don't know that your entire team hid somewhere and waited for us to defeat Flora," Pannin continued as she spat on the ground.

"Who are you calling ugly!? YOU!!!" the short-haired girl screamed. She was about to attack Pannin with her contracted beast when her captain blocked her with his hand.

"Don't fall for her trap," her captain said.

After hearing her captain's words, the short-haired girl looked at Pannin. She realized that Pannin currently has two Epic grade beasts by her side. If she went to attack with her Rare grade beast without thinking, she could have been killed in an instant. This made the short-haired girl felt goosebumps all over her body and immediately became silent. Still, she would not forgive Pannin's rudeness. Just you wait and see!

Pannin could only roll her eyes after the enemy team figured out her plan. Assessing her teammates and the enemy team's strengths, it seemed to be that they were both equal in power. Still being injured and spending a lot of their spiritual energy, team Thailand was still in a disadvantage.

"We should finish this quickly. We're going to attack them as a team. The items that they have will be separated equally amongst us afterward," the captain said as his expression became serious as he licked his lips.

"Hmph! Don't be too confident that you'll defeat us that easily," Pannin said as she smirked. This statement made everyone in team Thailand feel somewhat confident as they took a defensive stance. Can, on the other hand, was thinking of a way for his team to defeat the enemy team and escape. He then suddenly realized something.

The captain of the Philippines team issued a command to his team. The other four members of the team understood his command as they nodded. Immediately, they turned invisible as they disappeared into thin air.

"Wh-where did they go?" one of the members of team Thailand asked in confusion.

"Form a circular defensive formation," Can commanded his team. The five other members did not hesitate and followed Can. Everyone in the team owed Can their lives, so they felt that they could trust him.

(A/N: This is what I mean by Circular Defensive Formation.)

Pannin quickly dragged the still unconscious Trump inside the circular defensive formation. The outer part of the defensive formation was guarded by their contracted beasts.

Everyone felt that Ae should have been here to lead. Where was he when you actually need him! It felt like they were abandoned. Even if Ae did not purposely abandon them, the fact that he was not present during crucial times could impact their opinions about his leadership. Right now, they have to put their fate on Can.

"Everyone, please listen to me carefully. I would need to borrow most of your spiritual energy. With that energy, I should be able to use Holy Dome to protect us for a little bit," Can said in a serious but calmed tone.

His teammates looked at one another with questioning gaze.

"You have the skill to take spiritual energy from other people? " one of the member's said in admiration and amazement. For someone to be able to have this sort of skill, that person must be exceptional. Well, Can is exceptional, but he did not know that he was this amazingly exceptional!

"Isn't that dangerous? Also, wouldn't we have more chance of winning if we fight them directly?" another member asked worriedly.

"I could purify other people's spiritual energy, so it could be compatible with me and I could prevent negative effects of the absorption to my body. Also, the enemy team seemed to be skillful at assassination. They would most likely attack at unexpected places while still hidden. It would be hard for us to attack our enemies blindly, so it would be better if we have the Holy Dome in place since it would protect us from all sides," Can continued. His teammates were continued to be amazed by Can's capabilities and quick analysis of the situation.

"But wouldn't they just attack the Holy Dome directly and aggressively since there would be a point where you would not be able to keep it up? Knowing that we all have exhausted our spiritual energy, they would most likely try to break it as soon as possible and murder us," Pannin responded. Even if she hated Can, her life still matters more, so she had to make sure that she cooperates in order to survive.

Although Can was surprised about Pannin's response, he did not hesitate and said, "You guys already know that Flora is considered a legendary beast because it has the ability to revive itself, correct?"

Everyone in the team nodded, but they were not sure where Can was going with this conversation.

"Yes, that's true. It would take Flora about a month to revive itself," the other member said.

Can nodded as he added, "That's actually not true. None of you guys might know this, but Flora could revive itself quickly within minutes depending on the amount of pure spiritual energy present in the area. A new Flora would not have the demonic element, so it would rely mostly on pure spiritual energy around it."

Can received this information from his master. Since he has the ability to absorb people's spiritual energy and purify them, he thought that he could speed up Flora's revival. Still, he was not sure if this would work, but he has to try.

"When the Flora finally revives and regains its consciousness, it will try to sense for the nearest  powerful source of spiritual energy to feed on. Since all of us will have exhausted all of our spiritual energy because of the Holy Dome....,"

"Then the other powerful source of spiritual energy would be from the members of the Philippines team!" Can was quickly interrupted by one of the members after finally figuring out his plan. Can is truly a genius!

Can nodded.

"Alright, let's finish this quickly. Your plan might not work, but it seemed to be the only chance that we have for survival," Pannin said as he looked at Can. Pannin's view about Can slightly changed. He seemed to be really capable. Everyone else agreed except for Trump who was still unconscious. They just decided to ignore him at this point.

"I'll do my best," Can said as he closed his eyes. He needed to concentrate and locate everyone's spiritual core, which is the main storage for the spiritual energy of an individual. This would be the first time that Can would try to absorb such energy from multiple people at once, but he trusted himself that he could do it. His teammates are trusting their lives on him, so he could not let them down.

Meanwhile, the members of the Philippines team were just observing. They were not sure what was happening, but they knew it was not good.

Quickly, the captain of the team gestured the rest of his teammates who were hiding in the shadows to concentrate their attack directly at one person at a time. After getting the command, everyone in the team and including their beasts headed towards team Thailand. Their first target was Can.

Unfortunately, they were a step too late.

_"Holy Dome!"_

After successfully absorbing and purifying the spiritual energy from his roommates, Can was able to recover fifty percent of his spiritual energy. He believed it should be enough.

When he created the Holy Dome through Valkyrie, the Philippines team was pushed back. Still, it did not stop them from attacking the defensive barrier. The members of the Philippines team knew very well that their enemies would not be able to keep up such a huge barrier for a long time, so they started attacking simultaneously to speed up the process of removing the barrier.

The powerful constant attacks on the barrier have caused the ground to shake. None of the members of the Philippines team knew that the shaking of the ground did not only come from their attacks but also from the revival of Flora.

Can's enemies were focusing mostly on destroying the barrier since it was about to break. Unfortunately, they did not notice the fast approaching thick black vines full of thorns from the underground. When they realized the existence of the vines, it was too late.

The vines were very fast. They were able to wrap themselves greedily and hungrily around each of the members of team Philippines completely. The members who were wrapped by the vines were unable to resist as they started screaming for help. The powerful force of being wrapped around by the vines caused the members to start bleeding profusely. The force from the vines was so severe that one of the member's hands was cut off. The owner of that arm could only scream in pain. Hearing that sound of the owner of that voice caused everyone to shudder, but not Pannin. She was smirking. She immediately knew that the owner of that arm and voice was from that short-haired girl.

"Let's retreat into the woods and meet with Ae and the others while Flora is busy," Can said. Everyone in the team agreed. None of them wanted to be Flora's next meal anyways. Before team Thailand retreated, Pannin commanded his beast to grab useless Trump back into the woods. At the same time, Can took this chance to grab something on the ground that fell from one of his enemies: the Seed of Flora. He quickly put it in his storage ring that was on his finger.

As team Thailand retreated back to the forest where they came from, the sound of the loud struggle of the other team gradually faded. What was left in that area were the man-eating plant that was enjoying its first meal and a piece of an arm on the ground which was a reminder of the cruel reality of this world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello guys so I'm back! So now that i'm done with school, expect for frequent updates from me from now on. Also, I would start publishing my other fanfic about Zhao Zi x Jack.
> 
> Alright! See ya all later!


	45. Chapter 40 - Manipulation

(unedited)

After meeting with the rest of the members in the woods, team Thailand has decided to rest for the night instead of continuing to travel. With most of the members getting injured and their spiritual energy being depleted, it would not be advisable to go straight for the river. It would just turn into a suicide mission.

Camping in a fairly flat land that did not have too many trees on it, the members quickly found their spots to rest. As not to gain attention from other teams, they decided not to create a campfire. Their only source of light was the bright twinkling stars and the full moon. Since it was cold that night, some of the members of the team took out their portable heater to keep themselves warm.

Meanwhile, some of them took guarding positions as requested by their leader: Ae. The rest of the members decided to sleep while the others, like Pannin, took this chance to train themselves through meditation. Everyone already took out health potions to help them recover quicker from their injuries. They also drank spiritual energy recovery potions to regain their spiritual energy. Since everyone, except Can, was from well-known and rich families, they obviously have what could be considered the best of items that prominent beast summoners could have. Most of them have high-quality potions for quick recovery. In this trip, most of them have everything that was necessary for survival. This includes high-quality beast catching devices, traps, and weapons. In addition, they also brought things that would give them comfort such as food, spare clothes, a portable heater or air conditioner, sleeping bags, lotion, insect repellant, etc. These people would be the future pillars of B.S.G, therefore, it was obvious that they would get the best treatment as much as possible. Can, on the other hand, did not have any of these luxurious things that would give him comfort like his other teammates. The things he had in his storage ring were food, potions, the <Summoning Control> training manual, and the complete map of this dimension that were given to him by his master. When he took out the lowest quality potion that he has for his injuries, which was a high-quality potion, he could not help whether if he should drink it or not. Knowing that he was the poorest out of everyone in his group, if he decided not to use this high-quality potion on his hand but sell it instead, then he would surely fetch a huge amount of money. Thinking about it more carefully, he would not want to be a burden to his teammates due to his injuries, so he reluctantly drank it.

Earlier the team encountered a pack of Uncommon Grade beasts called Steel Chonchons. Individually, dealing with one of these beasts would not be a problem, but a pack of them was a different issue. Since they were attracted to the scent of blood from miles away, they were able to locate Can's group immediately. From hundreds of Steel Chonchons to thousands, they came and attacked endlessly. The only way to defeat them was to destroy their pack leader. The problem was that the pack leader looked the same as the other Steel Chonchons. Thankfully, Ae had sharp eyes and was able to eliminate the pack leader. When the leader died, the Steel Chonchons became disorganized and started to flee. In the process of fighting these beasts, Can got injured. He was not injured because he was careless. He got injured protecting one of his teammates from the attacking beasts. This selfless act earned more admiration from his teammates. Of course Can did not do it for the sake of getting admired by his teammates. He did it because he thought it was the right thing to do.

(A/N: Steel Chonchon from Ragnarok Online. Cute..)

Currently, those who took the guarding positions were Ae, Techno, and Can. Trump was supposed to also take part in guarding since he did not participate in anything since he was mostly unconscious the whole time. Yet, after being asked to guard after he woke up without any injuries or issues with his body, he still complained that he felt pain inside of his body and needed some rest to recover. Although everyone felt that he was lying, they could not prove that he was not in pain, so Ae could only let him go and rest. Trump happily accepted Ae's decision and quickly took out his sleeping bag with his portable heater to rest. Still, this did not mean that the other members would just let it go. In their hearts, Trump was just a useless bastard. He never did anything except for whining. It just made their hatred towards Trump increase, but they could only shake their head in response.

"How's Kengkla?" Can asked.

"He's out of danger now thanks to Ae's antidote potion, he just needs rest and he should be back to normal tomorrow," Techno responded as he looked at Kengkla who was sleeping on the ground inside a sleeping bag. He was relieved that he was alright.

"That's good to hear then," Can responded with a weak smile on his face. He knew that Kengkla cares a lot about Techno. This was the reason why he would always stick with Techno all the time.

"Enough with this sad talk," Techno said as he faced Can with a proud look on his face.

"Can, you did really well today, I've heard it from the others," Techno teased Can as he pinched the side of his body.

"Ah!" Can slightly jumped from the pinching as he chuckled slightly.

"You defeated Flora with just one shot! That's really amazing!" Techno continued.

The two immediately started a childish fight with one another as one tried to pinch and the other tried to dodge. Doing this as if there was no care about the dangers in that world might not be necessarily a bad thing, at least for this moment. It allows the two to just be free of worry and find something entertaining even for a little bit. They know what they have been through today, so it was necessary to find ways to support and encourage each other. This childish activity was just one of them. True friends indeed!

Meanwhile, not too far away from the two, Ae was staring at the two idiots under the moonlight and the illuminating stars. Still, a small chuckle left his mouth. He was thankful that even if he was not present earlier to help Can and the others at dealing with Flora, they managed to successfully defeat it. He was mostly thankful that Can was there to help out. If it was not for him, he would not know what would have happened to the others.

A moment later, a black raven perched on one of the branches of a tree not too far away from team Thailand. Although it looked normal, its eyes were red. None of the members of the team noticed the bird that just flew to a branch.

Ae who was observing the area suddenly heard some whispers in his ears.

_"Can is really great! Unlike Ae."_

Ae quickly turned around to see who whispered in his ear behind him. There was no one. He looked back to his members and saw that everyone was in the same position as before.

It must have been his imagination, he thought, so he ignored it.

_"Where was he when we needed him?"_

_"We shouldn't rely on him. For all we know he would abandon us."_

Once again Ae heard another whisper that echoed and looked back. Again, it was the same situation. No one was behind him. Something was not right. Was he actually hearing things? Was he just tired?

Thinking about it, what he heard was not wrong at all. Can was the one who led and saved everyone from danger. If only he was able to get to them faster. It was just that the process of identifying the poison and the proper antidote potion to save Kengkla took a lot of time. He was not a medic in the first place.

Ae became anxious all of a sudden. In order to calm down, he closed his eyes, but at that very moment, he felt someone was behind him.

"Yeah Ae, why did you abandon us all of a sudden?" This statement came from a very familiar voice that it made Ae tremble a bit due to the coldness of how it was mentioned.

When Ae turned around he saw that Can was smiling evilly behind him.

"C-Can what are you talking about?" Ae slightly frowned. His heartbeat pounded faster. What was happening exactly?

When Ae looked around for the other members, he suddenly felt a chill on his body. Everyone was just looking at him with a devious smile on their faces.

"Ae wake up!"

Ae opened his eyes as he blinked due to the bright sunlight. 

When he faced the person who woke him up, he saw that it was Can. He was not creepily smiling, thankfully. 

By the looks of it, he fell asleep.

Still, he felt a little uncomfortable, but knowing what happened, he felt at ease. It was just a bad dream after all.

"Techno saw you falling asleep last night. He said to just let you be. He knew that it took a lot of your strength and spiritual energy to save Kengkla," Can continued.

Ae looked at the direction towards Techno who was checking Kengkla's condition. Kengkla was already standing up and happily smiling as he was being checked by Techno on his current condition. By the looks of it, it seemed that Kengkla recovered completely.

Ae got up and looked at everyone who also just woke up and currently eating breakfast.

"We're heading towards the river after breakfast," Ae said to his members.

Everyone nodded as they continued to enjoy their meal and became recharged. After breakfast, the team continued heading to their destination. As they traveled, they continued collecting resources and fighting beasts that tried to eat them. Instead of two hours, it should take them about three hours to get to the river due to some delays from fighting beasts. Yet, as they continued, the estimated time became four hours. That four hours then turned to five hours. That five hours turned into more hours. At this point, everyone felt something was wrong. They should have been at their destination a long time ago, but it seemed that the path that they were talking was endless.

"I believe we are in some sort of trap," Pannin said. She took a piece of ribbon from her storage ring and placed it on the ground.

"If my suspicion is correct, we triggered an Endless Trap set up by an enemy team," Pannin continued with a serious look on her face.

"An Endless Trap!? Isn't that illegal? Only those with high reputation and connection with the black market could get one of those traps," one of the members of the team said as he became worried.

The Endless Trap, when triggered, would cause a person or a group of people to be put in a never ending maze.

When team Thailand started traveling to test if Pannin's suspicion was correct, they ended up at the same spot where Pannin's ribbon was placed.

"We are really trapped! Doesn't this trap also absorb more spiritual energy the longer we stay here? Oh no.... we're going to die in this pitiful place! Uggh!" Trump suddenly cried out.

Pannin looked at him with disgust on her face. The more that she spent time with this idiot, the more she felt hopeless and angry at him. When Trump saw her furious reaction, he immediately shut up.

"There is a way to break this maze," Pannin said as she changed her facial reaction to a serious one when she looked at Can directly into his eyes .

"What is it?" Can asked. He felt a little uncomfortable when Pannin just looked at him all of a sudden.

"We need to overflow this maze with spiritual energy," Pannin explained.

"But that requires a ton of energy! The larger the maze, the larger the amount of its capacity to absorb spiritual energy. By the looks of it, this is one of the largest types of a maze!" one of the members said nervously.

"With that spiritual energy-rich guy, we have a chance to break it," Pannin said as she casually points at Can.

Can gulped as everyone looked at him. He was not sure if he could do it, but he knew he must try and help his teammates.

"Can, do you think you..."

"I'll do it!" Can said without hesitation as he interrupted Ae.

"Alright then, we'll rely on you Can," Ae said as he tapped Can's shoulder.

Can nodded as he took a deep breath. Thankfully, his spiritual energy has been fully restored. In addition, after defeating beasts especially the legendary man-eating plant, Can was able to level up into a High-Level Orange Grade Beast Summoner. He was now a step closer to being a High-Level Rainbow Grade Beast Summoner, if he gets the opportunity to become one. At the moment, other than Can, the other top 5 in the team have also reached High-Level Orange Grade.

Reaching a new level means a larger capacity to store spiritual energy. With Can's already insane amount of capacity to store spiritual energy, Pannin thought that Can should be able to break the Endless Trap without a problem.

Controlling the spiritual energy that circulates in his body, a sudden burst of a tremendous amount of such energy came out of Can's body. Those who are a grade below him could not help but shake and fall on their knees due to the sudden pressure that came out of Can's body. It was terrifying, but a beautiful scene to be held as the pure blue spiritual energy flowed into the air. Even the people of the same grade as Can could not help but shake slightly too. In everyone's view, Can could be considered a true powerhouse alone. If in the future he managed to become a High-Level Rainbow Grade Beast Summoner, they would not want to mess with him at all.

The sudden burst of spiritual energy immediately overwhelmed the maze that caused it to vanish into thin air.

"Can you saved us!" Techno said as he messed Can's hair as he put his arm around his neck. Everyone in the team happily praised him except Trump and Pannin. Trump refused to acknowledge Can. Pannin, on the other hand, was not the type of person to praise anyone.

"I just wanted to help," Can said as he became embarrassed.

"You really are the best! You saved us multiple times already!"

_"Can is really great!"_

When Ae heard this phrase, he suddenly remembered the dream that he had last night. His fist tightened as his sight suddenly blurred for a second. He told himself that it was only a dream multiple times but somehow his heart felt heavier the more he thought about it. He does not feel good about the situation.

Not far from the group was the same black raven with its shining red eyes perched to a branch as it silently observes a particular person. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone. Here's another chapter. Enjoy! Now to the next one!


	46. Chapter 41 - The Lonely Lady By The River

(unedited)

After the Endless Trap was destroyed, the group continued their journey until they reached their destination.

As they got closer, the steady sound of the flow of water could be heard nearby.

"We're close to the river, be careful," Kengkla said while walking next to Techno.

"Stop! Get down," Ae, who was in front of everyone, said to his teammates.

"What's wrong?" one of the members whispered.

"There's an ongoing battle," Ae replied as he looked at the surrounding area.

When team Thailand became quiet as they slowly approached the river while hiding behind tall bushes, sounds of swords clashing could be heard.

"Another team got here before us," Techno whispered as he observed the ongoing battle by the river.

At the moment, the sound of the graceful flow of water of the river was quickly replaced by more powerful sounds of clashes of weapons and explosions from magic spells. Ignoring the battle momentarily, the team observed the rich resources surrounding the river. Filled by a lot of rare resources of plants, stones, and ancient small creatures, the place was truly a magnificent rare treasure to be beheld.

"We should get them, while the other team is distracted!" Trump excitedly said as he got up from his hiding place. Ae immediately pulled him back.

"If it was that easy to take these resources, this place should've been already plundered cleanly," Ae explained as he frowned at Trump.

"Don't just go impulsively without assessing the area, you idiot," Pannin said as she clicked her tongue in displeasure.

"If you want to get killed, don't include us," she continued.

Trump felt humiliated and felt bitter. He could only shut his mouth while biting his lips as a response. You'll see! I'll have my revenge later!

As the team continued to observe, they realized something odd.

"....6...7...8..9..10, two teams? They're not fighting each other but rather it looks like they're fighting that one beautiful lady!" one of the members said in sudden amazement.

At the scene of the fierce fight, two teams were coordinating a planned attack against a beautiful lady who has a solemn expression on her face and seemed to be detached by what was happening in front of her. Wearing a long light pink colored skirt embraced by a smooth turquoise colored sash, a beautiful sleeve, and a cross-collar that exposes her alluring thin physique, the beautiful lady gracefully blocks the attacks with ease. Anyone who would witness such gracious yet powerful movements from her would be immediately captivated.

(A/N: Bacsojin from Ragnarok Online)

The straight men in team Thailand could not help it but admire the beautiful lady. They started having daydreams about her.

"Don't get fooled by her graceful appearance, she's the guardian beast of this river: Bacsojin," Can said causing the straight men of the team to immediately remove their indecent thoughts towards the beautiful lady.

"That...that's Bacsojin? I thought Bacsojin is a huge white snake?" one of the members asked. He dare not believe that the beautiful lady is the infamous white snake that killed anyone who dared take any resources by the river that it is guarding.

"That's the white snake's human form," Can continued.

Immediately the member who asked could only be silent due to disappointment and disgust that he felt.

Bacsojin is considered a Legendary Grade Earth Element beast that has been guarding the river for thousands of years. Although she was known for her form as a white snake, she prefers her human form. She is quite strong in close and group combat due to her high agility. Her Earth element allows her to perform massive Earth related magic. In the entire history of beast summoners going to this dimension, no one has ever defeated Bacsojin before, so she was categorized as legendary.

According to a story about Bacsojin, the reason why she was guarding the river was that she was waiting for her lover to come back to her. Apparently, this place was quite special to her because the two met here on accident and fell in love. Since then, this area became the place where they would always meet. One day, the man told her to wait for him in this area the next day as usual. The lovely and beautiful lady happily agreed. She excitedly waited for the man by the river the next day. Unfortunately, the man did not come. Still, Bacsojin believed that her lover would come back for her, so she stayed by the river to wait in order not to miss him if he did come back. Yet, days turned into weeks then weeks turned into months then those months turned into thousands of years. Still, never once did she think of leaving this place because she was still holding onto that hope. 

"Team Japan, try to surround her from all sides while my group performs a beast sealing spell," the long-haired woman who was the leader of team Taiwan commanded the other group.

"Tsk! Damn woman!" the team leader of team Japan who was holding a sword whispered to himself in annoyance. If his team was the one in charge of dealing with the blows from Bacsojin, then it was also his team that was going to suffer the most damages.

Team Japan and team Taiwan were able to reach the river at the same time. They were about to fight one another the moment they saw one another, but they realized that it would be to their disadvantage if they fought Bacsojin later, so they decided to cooperate and defeat Bacsojin first. What happens after defeating the guardian of the river will be decided later.

The leader of Team Japan reluctantly agrees since Team Taiwan is really strong at using beast sealing spells.

"My team! Surround Bacsojin and attack her on all sides! Don't let her get near the other team!" the Japanese leader said to his teammates.

"UNDERSTOOD!" Everyone in team Japan shouted in unison. With their sharp weapons and contracted beasts, they attacked Bacsojin relentlessly. The guardian of the river seemed to be unaffected as she maintained her solemn expression while she defended herself from the attacks on every side.

Now that team Taiwan felt more secured, they focused on creating a strong group magical spell that would seal Bacsojin's power for one minute. Since Bacsojin is considered a middle tier Legendary Grade beast, it would take entire team Taiwan's spiritual energy to just seal her powers for a minute. Even if it is only one minute, it should be enough to defeat Bacsojin with team Japan's help.

"Sh*t! She's too fast," one of the members of the Japanese team complained.

"Keep your formation and keep attacking!" the Japanese leader ordered as he continued to swing his sword with more power. If they manage to defeat Bacsojin, it would mean that the entire resources by the river and fame would be theirs. Aside from this, Bacsojin has the blue gemstone that could help them contract a legendary water elemental beast. Just thinking about these rewards gave both teams more motivation to fight.

Within five minutes of fierce battle, team Japan successfully kept Bacsojin from moving. Team Taiwan, on the other hand, was ready to release the beast sealing spell.

_"Beast Chain!"_

Team Japan immediately moved away from Bacsojin as white chains appeared and twisted around her. The guardian tried to break free, but she could not do it. She fell on her knees after her power was suppressed by the white chains. Her smooth red hair covered her face. Her expression at that moment was hidden as she continued to struggle.

"Now, let's eliminate her!" the leader of team Taiwan shouted.

As they approached her, one of the members from team Taiwan, said arrogantly "How unfortunate for you. You've been waiting for your lover who would never come back for you. You're beautiful, but you're too stupid."

The members from team Japan would like to scold the rude member of team Taiwan, but it was not time to discuss such things.

The captain of team Japan immediately tried to stab her heart but he missed.  He stabbed her shoulder instead. Immediately, Bacsojin's shoulder bled which tainted her pink colored skirt with blood.

The Taiwanese leader was surprised that the guardian was still able to move despite that powerful beast sealing spell they invoked against her.

When the captain of team Japan was about to stab Bacsojin with his blade again, the female guardian, for the first time since the beginning of the battle, started talking.

"Shut up..." she whispered with hatred in her tone. Her expression was still hidden due to her hair.

Everyone became surprised when she talked.

"You know nothing...." she continued.

At that moment, the ground started to shake violently that caused the entire mountain to shake. These sudden shaking of the ground caused two teams to lose their momentum of attack and balance. Team Thailand also lost their balance as they clung to the trees next to them.

Bacsojin slowly stood up and the chains that bound her were broken in an instant. Her fists tightened as the pressure of her actual power was released. Those beasts nearby could not help it but move away from the source of pressure as much as possible. As for the beast summoners, they were already shaking.

"Do-does that mean that she has not been using her full power since the beginning?" the leader of team Taiwan said as her mouth trembled. If this is the case then there is nothing that they could do. They are finished.

The female guardian whose expression was still hidden by her hair, made a slashing movement with her hand. In an instant, three members of team Japan became headless as the blood started spurting out like a fountain.

Before the violent earthquake stopped, the female guardian trapped the remaining members of both team with chains made of strengthened soil.

She then continued to kill the members one by one in silence.

"AHHHH!!!!NO! NO! I DON'T WANT TO DIE!! Please have mercy," the female member of team Japan cried as she pleaded, but the female guardian did not listen. Grabbing her neck, Bacsojin strangled her to death until her eyes rolled back as her face turned purple. She then threw her body in the river so the beasts that live there would feast on her.

As the massacre continued, Bacsojin killed everyone from both teams except for the one who insulted her. Now, the river's clean and transparent water was tainted with filthy blood.

"I-I di-didn't me-mean wh-what I sa-said...Ack!" Before the last remaining member of team Taiwan could finish his excuse, Bacsojin already grabbed him by the neck.

"All the things that come out of your mouth is filthy. We should clean it." Bacsojin opened his mouth and pulled his tongue out forcefully that caused it to bleed.

"Aackk!" The Taiwanese member tried to struggle, but he could not break free.

After pulling his tongue out. Bacsojin continued as she said, "Now that your filthy mouth is cleansed, we shall cleanse those eyes that deceive you."

"SHAA!" The man in her grasp shouted in pain as his eyes were pierced by her fingers. He cried in pain but instead of tears, there was only blood that flowed.

He wished he just died quickly like the rest of his teammates instead of experiencing such torture. He also wished that he did not say those insulting words towards her if this was going to happen.

"Now, we shall cleanse those ears that allows you to hear lies," she continued.

Bacsojin threw the miserable guy on the ground forcefully causing his face to deform and bleed more immediately. To make sure, he would not escape, Bacsojin broke both of his arms and legs. Once again, the miserable guy cried in pain.

_"Gaea's Judgement"_

Bacsojin's hand was raised as a huge sharpened stone that looked like a spear's edge appeared above the man lying on the ground. Then in an instant, Bacsojin put down her hand that was raised earlier causing the sharpened stone to fall and pierce his head and entire body. The body twitched for a second before it stopped moving. 

When their owners die, all the contracted beasts would return to their dimension and become free once again. Of course, seeing their owners die in front of them was hard for them to accept, but they knew the rules of life and death. As they returned back to their dimension, they must once again wait until someone would want to take them, but the death of their owners will always be remembered.

Witnessing such a scene, some of the members of team Thailand could not help it but vomited. It was just too cruel for them to handle.

"That Bacsojin is truly a cruel monster," Trump whispered as he vomited. 

"We should eliminate her and give those people who died from her hands some justice." one of the members said angrily.

Unlike everyone else who wants to eliminate Bacsojin, Can had the urge to help her. He felt that she was trapped and could not get out from it. He firmly believed that it was not her fault that she had to defend herself from beast summoners that tried to kill her for her blue gemstone and plunder the place that was quite important to her heart. He wondered, if he was in her position, would he be the same?

After releasing her full power, Bacsojin fell on her knees as she covered her bleeding shoulder with her hand. After finally being able to defeat her enemies, it was then that her true emotions that she tried to hide for thousands of years finally came out.

"Puuu...," Bacsojin tried to suppress the tears in her eyes but her emotions were overwhelming her. Her beautiful face that was covered by blood were being slowly washed by her pure tears of sadness. At that moment for the first time in thousands of years, the lonely lady by the river started crying.   

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> =====
> 
> Here you go....now to the next one!


	47. Chapter 42 - The Team Becomes Divided

(unedited)

Hidden by the tall bushes, team Thailand was discussing their plan on what to do with the injured beast.

Having sharp senses, Bacsojin was able to determine that there was another team that would like to cause her harm and attempt to take the precious resources surrounding the river. She knew that these people came here only for that reason. This is why she hated all of them. They want to take what is not theirs, but she would not let them achieve what they wanted that easily.

Bacsojin stopped crying as she suppressed her emotions.

_He will return. One day, he will surely return to me._

This thought was the only thing that motivates her to continue to live and to persists in protecting this area from beast summoners. She wanted to make sure that when he returns, this area would be the same as before. As long as she kept those beast summoners away from coming here, this area will remain the same.

With a little bit of strength that she still had, she shakily stood up. With her injured shoulder giving her constant stinging pain, Bacsojin could only hiss while the blood continues to flow. If this continues, then she would die from losing too much blood. However, she would not be able to tend to her wounds since she might have to fight another team that just intruded in this area. It was most likely she would die this time.

To be honest,  looking at her situation right now, she thought that it would probably be better if she dies right now, so she does not have to feel the pain and loneliness anymore. Dying would not be such a bad thing compared to clinging to a hopeless dream. Yet, thinking how far she had been protecting this place, she decided that she would continue defending it.

Hardening her heart once again, she thought that she still should not give up and not let these pests take everything as they please. If she dies, then so be it! She would die defending what is quite precious to her and she would not regret it! She would do this over and over again if given another chance in life.

With strong determination, she bravely shouted while breathing heavily, "Go on! I dare you steal everything from me and I'll promise you that you'll meet your creator from the other side!"

The members of team Thailand knew that they were found out, but they were not too worried about Bacsojin fighting back. Looking at her situation, she was already weakened.

Quickly, everyone summoned their contracted beasts.

"We should finish her quickly since she's already weakened," Trump quickly said with an evil smile.

Almost half of the members agreed with him which made Trump felt happy since he thought that he had some actual authority. While the other members were continuing to discuss their next step, Ae was thinking about the benefits and consequences of killing Bacsojin. Just like what most of his members were thinking, Ae also thought that the benefits outweigh the consequences.

The female guardian just sneered at the beast summoners in front of her. Those looks on their faces were quite familiar. Just like the other teams before them, they were also full of greed and malice. Nothing has changed, these people were all the same. It was only her lover who was the exception.

"We should help her," Can declared as he interrupted the discussion of the other members. Everyone was surprised including Bacsojin. His teammates thought why they should save a beast that killed two teams mercilessly? They initially thought that Can was only joking.

Bacsojin, on the other hand, felt sudden chills on her body. Those words that the little beast summoner said were very familiar. Where did she hear it before?

"What did you say? Help her? HAH!" Trump chuckled at what he considered was an idiotic comment. This person is truly naive.

"She's gonna die sooner or later anyway, so why not kill her already? Don't tell me you sympathize with this merciless beast?" Trump continued as he pointed at the injured river guardian.

"This has been her home for thousands of years and we're the ones intruding. Naturally, she has the right to defend it," Can continued as he looked directly into Trump's eyes with determination.

_"This has been her home and we're the ones intruding. Naturally, she would defend it..."_

When Bacsojin heard this, she suddenly remembered where these familiar words came from. It was at that moment her memories from back then where she met the love of her life began. She looked at the little beast summoner as her feelings became complicated all of a sudden.

Ae who heard Can's plea was thinking of his next step when all of a sudden he heard a whisper.

_"Don't let him....."_

Ae looked back to see who it was, but there was no one. Seeing that there was no one behind him, he thought that it was just imagination and refocused on the current situation of his team. He already made a decision after some thinking.

"Can, even if we let her live, some other team would come here and eliminate her. By then, those people would take everything from this place. Wouldn't it be beneficial if we do it ourselves? We would make it quick for her, so she doesn't have to feel any pain," Ae explained as he sympathized with Can's feelings.

"I refuse," Can responded without hesitation.

Everyone's mouth twitched. They knew very well about Can's soft spot for beasts. He was well known in the L.B.C. campus as someone who has an obsession for beasts.

"I'm sorry, Can. Please understand. Move aside," Ae asked Can politely. In any case, even if they helped out Bacsojin, this beast could take this opportunity after she recovers to kill all of them. They do not know Bacsojin personally, so as a leader who is responsible for everyone's lives, Ae would not take any chances. They must eliminate her. Ae understands Can's nature very well, but he does not understand how he could just trust Bacsojin and protect her without second thoughts? Was he not worried that she could also kill him?

When Ae stepped forward towards Bacsojin, Can immediately went in front of him to block him. Raising both of his hands to the side, he firmly stood and directly looked into his eyes.

"No, Ae, please don't do this," Can said stubbornly as he pleaded to Ae.

"Can, I'll ask one more time please...move aside....," Ae continued being patient with Can.

Can did not move. He continued to stand firmly in front of Ae.

Everyone in the team could feel the building tension between the two. This did not mean any good.

"Why do you want to help her Can? For all we know after you help her, she would not only kill you but also us! I'm not going to take that risk. Besides you don't even know her," Ae explained as he started to feel frustrated.

"...."

Can was not sure how to respond to Ae's question. He did not know how he would explain it. He just felt that he had to help Bacsojin. He knew that she needed help. His other teammates might not care about her, but he does.

Since Ae did not get an answer, he went around Can, but the little beast summoner grabbed his shoulder.

"SHE WANTS TO LIVE!! SHE WANTS TO CONTINUE TO LIVE BECAUSE SHE'S WAITING FOR SOMEONE PRECIOUS TO HER TO RETURN!!! WHY SHOULD WE TAKE THAT OPPORTUNITY AWAY FROM HER!? WHO ARE WE TO TAKE IT AWAY FROM HER!?" Can shouted as his mouth trembled. To continue living this way for thousands of years, it just meant that she had hope that the person she was waiting for would come back. As long as she has that hope, then it does not matter what other people think.

The river guardian's heart softens while still trying to remain strong when she heard Can's words loud and clear. He was just too similar to 'him' who was also quite stubborn.

"You actually believe that ridiculous made-up story? You're an idiot if you believe it!" Trump continued to hurl an insult at Can.

Techno and Kengkla looked at Trump with a murderous look which caused Trump to shut up as he suddenly felt goosebumps all over his body.

Without hesitation, Can declared, "If you want to eliminate her then you have to go through me!"

When Bacsojin saw the stubborn determination of the little beast summoner, she realized that he would just endanger himself and get the risk of his teammates scheming against him. It already happened to 'him' before because of her. She decided she would not let it happen again.

"Hey! The kid who shouted earlier!" Bacsojin shouted as she finally interfered.

"Just let it go! Don't bother trying to save me. Sooner or later, I'll die anyways. It's fine. Take everything if..." Before she could finish, Can interrupted her short speech.

"Do you still have hope?" Can looked directly at Bacsojin with a serious look on his face.

When she met his gaze, she saw Can's determination and sincerity. Why are you so stubborn? Why are you doing this? You have nothing to gain from saving me at all?

"I..," she whispered to herself.

"I...." she continued as she tried to gain strength in her voice.

It was at this point that she realized that she did not want to let go. Just like the little beast summoner, she was also stubborn. She still has that hope. Her eyes, once again, were filled with tears as she shouted with all her might, "I DO! I STILL HAVE HOPE!!"

She started to breathe heavily as she started sobbing. She knew that he will come back for her, no matter how long it might take. She just knew that he would come back. This is her source of strength to live and her hope.

"Then that's all I needed to hear," Can smiled as he nodded to the river guardian.

When everyone heard of this, some of them felt guilty. They remembered how Can saved their lives twice already. It was him who gave them hope when they were about to die in this place. So their opinion about eliminating Bacsojin changed.

The first one to go to Can's side to defend him surprised everyone.

"Pannin, what do you think you're doing?" Trump asked. He was confused about why the person who hated Can the most when they came here would be on his side?

Pannin ignored Trump's question and looked at Can.

"I owe you," she said as she went to Can's side.

It was true that Pannin did not like Can, but she was a person who sticks to her principles. She believed that debts must be repaid. Can saved her life, therefore, she should do something equivalent. She hated being indebted to other people.

Throughout this short journey that she spent with Can, she realized that Can was truly special in a way, even though she did not want to admit it. This could be the reason why Tin liked him in the first place. She thought if she could try to become like Can, would Tin like her? Thinking about it made her want to vomit. She could not force herself to be like him because she was not him. As Pannin looked at Can from the back, she could only shake her head. What has happened to her?

One by one the other members who were saved by Can went to his side except for Trump. For Kengkla and Techno, they could not decide. They did not want to choose sides between their two close friends.

Meanwhile, the black raven nearby started to react.

_"Don't let him...."_

Ae once again heard the same whisper earlier. This time, he did not ignore it. When he listened to the contents of the whisper, those words suddenly continued to echo loudly and fill his head with them.

Now only filled with those words that seemed to command him, Ae's personality quickly changed.

"Then die with her," Ae muttered softly.

Can who was next to him was not sure if he heard what Ae said correctly.

"Those who want to defend her shall face the consequences! If you die during the process, then you could only blame on your misfortune!" Ae spoke with seriousness and without hesitation. He stepped back a few steps from Can as he waited for the other members to change their minds.

When the members heard their leader say those words, they did not believe them at first. Yet, with the way Ae's attitude change into a serious one, they thought that he was not joking at all.

"Ae, you're not seriously thinking of fighting Can?" Techno worriedly asked. There was no way Ae would fight him.

"If you want to join him, you're free to do so," Ae responded without removing his gaze from Can.

"If we let him do what he wants, then in the future that we are here in this dimension, he could endanger everyone's safety. I'm not going to let that happen. What I'm going to do will serve as a lesson for him and to other members who would try to disobey me," Ae continued with authority in his voice.

All of a sudden, the members who went to Can's side slowly went back to Ae's side except Pannin. Even if Can saved their lives, they could not dare offend the future heir of B.S.G no matter what. It would be truly problematic, not only to them but also to their families. Besides, thinking about it, why should they defend a life of some beast that was going to die eventually? It was not worth the risk at all! They were thinking that they would just compensate Can in some other way. It was just not this way where they would offend Ae.

When Pannin saw this, she could not help but sneer. A bunch of ungrateful cowards! These people were saved by Can not too long ago and this was how they were going to repay him? Just some empty words from Ae and they would act this way? Truly despicable!

Kengkla and Techno remained neutral even though Techno would want to go to Can's side. It was just that Kengkla was holding him back.

Can understood the other members' situation, so he could not blame them.

Can knew what he was getting into. He knew the risks. He knew he was stubborn. He knew that he could die, but he would sacrifice doing what he thought was right. That is the kind of person he is.

He believed that Ae has his own principles too, but he did not expect that the situation would escalate this way.

"If you're willing to defend her, then you must be willing to sacrifice yourself."

With that being said, Ae quickly summoned his strongest contracted beasts without wasting any time.

"Come out! Seven Deadly Sins Beasts!"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> =======
> 
> OHH...GETTING INTENSE! XD See you on the next chapter!


	48. Chapter 43 - Ae vs. Can

(unedited)

One by one, Ae's Seven Deadly Sins Beasts who possess the Dark Element were summoned.

The first of the Seven Deadly Sins Beasts was the one who represents Wrath.

"Rune Knight Seyren..."

(A/N: Rune Knight Seyren from Ragnarok Online.)

Rune Knight Seyren is the leader of the Seven Deadly Sins Beast. He is a powerful master swordsman who is good at dealing damage in close combat.

The second to be summoned was the one who represents Sloth.

"Archbishop Magaleta..."

(A/N: Archbishop Magaleta from Ragnarok Online)

Archbishop Magaleta is the support healer of the group. If someone gets injured in her group, she could heal him or her immediately.

"Guillotine Cross Eremes..."

(A/N: Guillotine Cross Eremes from Ragnarok Online)

Representing Envy, Guillotine Cross Eremes is the fastest attacker in close combat in the group. His favorite weapon of choice is his daggers dabbed with deadly poison. When it comes to sneak attacks or assassination, Eremes would be the perfect choice for the job.

"Warlock Katrinn...."

(A/N: Warlock Katrinn from Ragnarok Online)

The powerful warlock Katrinn who could control different basic elements with the dark element represents Gluttony. She is proficient at dealing high damage in a long-distance group attack.

"Royal Guard Randel..."

(A/N: Royal Guard Randel from Ragnarok Online)

As the protector of the group, Royal Guard Randel is in charge of defending the members of his group from enemy attacks. With his shield, he is capable of deflecting different kinds of attacks all at once. He represents Pride.

"Ranger Shecil..."

(A/N: Ranger Shecil from Ragnarok Online)

This beast, who represents Lust, is another long-range attacker who specialized at using bow and traps.

"Minstrel Alphoccio..."

(A/N: Minstrel Alphoccio from Ragnarok Online)

Lastly, Minstrel Alphoccio is another support for the group who specializes in enhancing his group's capabilities. With a strum of his magical guitar, he could strengthen the power of his teammates or weaken his enemies.

With the Seven Deadly Sins Beasts now present, the atmosphere of the area around the river became more tense and sinister. Everyone could feel the pressure of Ae's contracted beasts that have a combined power of a low-tier Legendary beast. They could not help it but shiver and gulped from the pressure that the Seven Deadly Sins Beasts were emitting. They thought it was a good decision that they changed their mind and went to Ae's side the last minute. They knew very well that they have a small chance of winning even if Can was on their side. Although Can is quite amazing for having great control and abundance of spiritual energy, if he does not have the power then he would lose. After all, power is power. This world is ruled by those who are powerful and the weak will be trampled by them. At the moment, Ae is the strong one and Can is the weak one.

Yesterday when team Thailand was dealing with Flora, the members were unable to see the full power of the Seven Deadly Sins Beasts due to the fact they were too focused on how to defeat Flora and that Ae was not present the entire time during the battle. Even before, during the Beast Summoner Ranking Competition, they did not see Ae fight with his Seven Deadly Sins Beasts since no one dared to challenge him in the first place. This would be the actual first time that they would see Ae fight with his Seven Deadly Sins Beasts. Now, without any distraction, they would witness how truly powerful Ae's treasured beasts are.

On the opposite side of the field were Can and Pannin. The two might be powerful but if they were compared to Ae, they still both lack the strength. How would they deal with Ae?

"What's our plan?" Pannin initiated while looking at the Seven Deadly Sins Beasts not too far away from her. Even she could feel the pressure of Ae's beasts and could not help it but slightly shiver. The only chance that the two of them could win is when Can could somehow summon Thanatos. With him on the battlefield, Thanatos could easily give them the upper hand. Just remembering how Thanatos was able to defeat her beasts during the Beast Summoner Ranking Competition with just a snap still amazes and scares her at the same time.

"Pannin, thank you but....this is my battle," Can said as he gazed at Pannin with a smile on his face.

 "...." 

Pannin got goosebumps all over her body. What was this idiot thinking?

"Don't be too arrogant! You know that you wouldn't win against him with just Valkyrie?" Pannin became irritated immediately.

"I have a plan. I can manage it without your help," Can replied.

"Are you sure that this plan of yours would work?" Pannin asked.

Can only nodded while still smiling gently.

"Fine!" Pannin shouted as she clicked her tongue. She did not ask what was his plan as not to expose him, so she could only hesitantly believe and agree with him. If this idiot has a plan that would actually let him win, then so be it. In any case, Can already did so many things that were unexpected. She thought that the little beast summoner might have an actual winning strategy in this battle, so she was not that worried.

Walking away from Can, Pannin went to her other teammates' side. When the others tried to tell her that she made the right decision to leave Can, Pannin immediately gave them an angry and disgusted look. She still has not forgiven them for leaving Can that easily without any hesitation. If she could only beat them up, she would do it.

"No one shall interfere!" Ae shouted to his teammates with an authoritative tone.

"Ca...Can just...just let it go...You could still surrender!" Techo shouted in his last desperate attempt to stop the fight, but Can only shook his head. It was useless. Can has already decided to defend Bacsojin and no one could change his mind. He is truly a stubborn person!

"Can, you had your last warning. I hope you're prepared to face the consequences of your action!" Ae frowned as he slightly became angered while pointing towards Can. He thought that Can would surrender when he released his Seven Deadly Sins Beasts, but Can did not back down. Was Can underestimating his power? Was he not afraid? The more that Ae thought about Can not surrendering to him, the more he felt angry. If Can thinks that he could just underestimate him, then he would teach him a lesson that he would never forget! He would make sure to crush this little beast summoner's confidence and destroy him completely! He would make sure that he would beg for mercy and forgiveness.

At the moment, Can only had Valkyrie on his side. He did not summon any other of his contracted beasts since he thought that they are no match to the Seven Deadly Sins Beasts. He did wish that Thanatos was here, but he knew that he would not come to the rescue.

"Kid, do you really believe that you can win?" Bacsojin asked with hesitation shown on her face. Based on her assessment, the little beast summoner's contracted beast is only an Epic Grade beast while his opponents are at the Legendary Grade category. One must know that a difference of grade means a huge gap in power. A Legendary grade beast could overwhelm an Epic grade beast. Looking at the situation, it was clear that the little beast summoner is at the disadvantage.

When Can heard the question from Bacsojin, he could only give her a gentle smile in return.

_"Holy Dome!"_

Valkyrie swiftly retreated next to Can as she struck the ground with her enchanted left hand and formed a defensive holy barrier around them including Bacsojin.

"Kid, your enemies have the Dark Element. Your barrier would be broken easily," Bacsojin warned.

"I know..." Can said as he turned around and approached Bacsojin.

Meanwhile, Ae started to order the Seven Deadly Sins Beasts to destroy the Holy Dome.

Strumming his magical guitar, Minstrel Alphoccio, boosted his groupmates' strength and speed. As the fastest one of the group, Guillotine Cross Eremes dashed towards the barrier and started slashing it with his poisoned daggers. Small cracks were already showing on the barrier where Eremes struck, but still it was not enough to destroy it.

While Eremes was continuing his attacks, the other members of the group such as Rune Knight Seyren, Warlock Katrin, Ranger Shecil, and Royal Guard Rendel started their offensive strikes as well. With the combined attacks from piercing arrows, poisoned daggers's slashes, explosive magical spells, destructive sword swings, and shield bashing, the smaller cracks on the barrier became wider. By the looks of it, the Holy Dome would not last any longer.

Still, thanks to Can's improved control of spiritual energy, he could still somehow manage to maintain the barrier. While the barrier was being bombarded by aggressive force of attacks, Can circulated his spiritual energy and slowly transferred it to Bacsojin.

"What...what are you doing?" Bacsojin was confused as she asked.

"I'm transferring my spiritual energy, so you can escape," Can said as he continued to focus on transferring his spiritual energy.

"ARE YOU AN IDIOT!? THAT'S DANGEROUS! Your body could be damaged easily!" Bacsojin scolded.

For someone to transfer their spiritual energy, that individual must be compatible with the other individual in terms of purity of spiritual energy level and power. This does not only apply to humans, but also to beasts. In any case, Can could easily bypass such requirements, therefore, there would be no problem at transferring his spiritual energy to Bacsojin. The only problem was that since Bacsojin is a Legendary Grade beast, the required spiritual energy to regain her power is immense. She was not sure whether Can could even give her enough.

"It's not a problem. Just worry about your safety for now," Can continued.

"Then what about you?" Basojin worriedly asked. Even if they just met today, Bacsojin felt a sense of trust towards the little beast summoner. She knew that he genuinely cares about her safety.

"I'm fine," Can replied as sweat on his forehead started to form. It was then when Bacsojin realized something.

"You don't really have a plan to win do you?" Bacsojin asked as her eyes widened in disbelief.

"...."

When the female guardian did not get any answer, it just further confirmed her suspicion. This truth just made her angry.

"YOU KNOW YOU COULD DIE RIGHT!? ARE SERIOUSLY AN IDIOT!? DON'T YOU CARE ABOUT YOURSELF?" Bacsojin told Can angrily.

"How can I let someone suffer when I know that I can help out?" Can finally answered.

When Bacsojin heard this, her anger instantly diminished. She could not say anything in return. She thought that this kid was just too similar to 'him'. Just like the little beast summoner, 'he' would also not hesitate to help someone in need even if it could cost him his life and even if there was nothing to gain in return. It was idiotic for someone to do this, but at the same time, it was truly admirable. It was most likely the reason why she fell in love with 'him.' This was also the reason why she was willing to wait for him to return because he was truly worth it.

Can, who was next to Bacsojin, suddenly felt a hand on his head.

"You remind me of him so much," Bacsojin said tenderly.

"Thank you," she continued.

Can smiled happily as he said, "No problem. I'm glad I could help you."

He was almost done at transferring enough spiritual energy for Bacsojin to escape when all of a sudden, the holy dome that was protecting them shattered immediately.

"Hurry! Escape now!" Can demanded as he turned around to face the entire team of Seven Deadly Sins Beasts with Valkyrie.

"How about you?" Bacsojin immediately asked worriedly. Even if she was injured and weakened, she could still somehow fight.

"We have no time! Go! I'll be fine. They would not kill me." Can replied.

Bacsojin could hesitantly agree with him. She could not let him waste his efforts.

_"Mud Tunnel!"_

Suddenly, a small tremor on the ground could be felt as a small opening on the ground under Bacsojin opened that swallowed her.

"Don't let her escape!" Ae shouted. After hearing this command, the Seven Deadly Sins Beasts quickly moved towards Bacsojin to catch her, but they were blocked by Valkyrie.

Instantly, Royal Guard Randel ran towards Valkyrie to clash with her. When the angel thrust her lance that was covered with purple flame towards him, the paladin quickly deflected it with his shield causing the angel to be forced to move backward. Unfortunately, when she moved backward there was already a trap set up by Ranger Shecil. The trap was triggered causing Valkyrie to become immobile.

_"Dark Smoke!"_

A spell performed by Warlock Katrin created a dark thick smoke that covered Valkyrie which caused her to feel like she was being strangled. Slowly she felt that she was unable to breathe then finally, she lost her consciousness as she slowly fell to the ground.

With that, Can did not have anyone to defend him. Thankfully, Bacsojin was able to escape successfully by giving her some time to escape.

Yet, Can's fight did not end there. Furious by Bacsojin's escape, Ae was filled with hatred and extreme displeasure.  How dare Can betray him! How dare he let that beast escape! Truly unforgivable!

"KILL HIM!" Ae shouted to his Seven Deadly Sins' Beasts.

When everyone from team Thailand heard this, they were not sure whether to believe Ae or not. In the beginning, they thought that Ae only said those words in order to intimidate them and Can. They would not think that Ae would actually kill them or Can if they decided to defend Bacsojin. It seemed that they were wrong. Ae seemed to be serious about killing them if they actually defended Bacsojin. When they thought about this, sweat on their foreheads started to form as fear took over them. It was a good thing that they changed their mind the last minute.

"AE, CAN ALREADY LOST! LET HIM GO!!" Techno shouted towards Ae anxiously.

Unfortunately, Techno did not get any response from Ae.

Can, who heard Ae's shout about killing him, could not believe that his friend would actually kill him. Would Ae actually do this to him? He dare not believe it. They have been friends for a long time and he knew what kind of person Ae is. He is one of the nicest and most caring people he ever met.

While thinking about Ae's odd behavior, an arrow was shot and pierced Can's shoulder.

Can slowly looked at his bleeding shoulder. He was not sure whether he was actually shot by Ae's beast. Yet, when he touched it, he felt immediate stinging pain. He was indeed shot.

"Ae...won't...do this...kind of thing." Can refused to believe it. He slowly faced Ae when another arrow was shot. This time on his right leg.

Can could only hiss as he felt that the bone of his right leg seemed to be broken by the powerful force of the arrow.

"AE! STOP IT!!!" Techno continued as he tried to struggle from Kengkla's strong grip. Everyone else in the team seemed to be scared to stop Ae as they witnessed the horrifying scene. Pannin, on the other hand, was anxiously waiting for Can to do something unexpected. Now, she was wondering whether Can had an actual winning strategy or not.

Can, who was shot twice, still stood firmly but then another arrow was shot. This time it went straight to his heart.

"Ack..." Can's body suddenly started to shake as he lost his balance. His eyes gradually became blurry as it became harder for him to breathe. As he looked around, he could somehow sense his teammates screaming in horror. Finally, looking at the direction of Ae, he saw the sudden change in his expression from anger to horrified look on his face. It was then that he knew that Ae would not do it to him. Something must have happened. Yet, even if he wanted to say anything, his body did not let him as he fell to the ground. Before he completely lost his consciousness, he remembered his family and Tin. 

_"I'm sorry if I failed you. Please don't get angry at me."_

Afterwards, Can's eyes slowly closed.

"He... didn't have any plan in the beginning...did he?" Pannin whispered to herself as she felt dumbfounded. Can must have known that they were not going to win in the beginning, so he tried to save her? By saying that he had a successful plan, it would make her trust in Can's capabilities that he would actually win, when in reality.....

"YOU'RE AN IDIOT! YOU'RE TRULY AN IDIOT!! LOOK AT WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU NOW!!! Huu-uh" Pannin screamed in anger as tears from her eyes started to fall. Can already knew that they were going to lose in the beginning, yet he did not back down at all. Why? What will you get in return anyways? You would get nothing in the first place! Look at where you are right now!

Pannin should feel happy that Can was supposed to die. This was Trump and her plan since the beginning, so why? Why is his misfortune making her sad all of a sudden?

As everyone in the team felt a mixture of emotions, another tremor underground was created. Next to Can's body, a hole on the ground appeared and a slender hand dragged Can back inside the hole. After Can was taken, that hole on the ground gradually disappeared.

When the battle was over, the black raven from the distance flew away as it made its low and gurgling croak.

"Wh..what exactly happened here?" Ae shakily faced his teammates while tears on his eyes fell after witnessing that one of his Seven Deadly Sins Beasts shot Can dead.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ========
> 
> Hello, another chapter here! Hope you guys enjoy!


	49. Chapter 44 - Far From Home

(unedited)

People say that the moment you find your soulmate, there would be this invisible bond that would be created. When that bond is created, it cannot be broken since it is fate that dictates it to be so. Fate cannot be changed, therefore the bond that it dictated to create between two people could not be broken. 

This bond forms a deep connection on a level that only these two people would understand. It reflects great compatibility between them and shows that their inner spirits are harmonious together. This then apparently meant that they would have an everlasting true love and happiness.

 _"Mother, how would I know if that person is my soulmate?"_ the naive boy Tin from the past asked.

 _"Well, you listen here,"_ Tin's mother said as she pointed to Tin's heart.

 _"But it doesn't talk? How would it tell me? Is there some sort of magic?"_  Tin curiously asked as he looked at the part where her mom touched.

 _"You don't have to understand right now, Tin. In the future, it will guide you. Fate has already made its plan for you. You just have to wait,"_  Tin's mother said while laughing after hearing his child's silliness. She gently took him to bed and tucked him in with a blanket.

_"Goodnight, Tin."_

_"Goodnight, mother."_

====

_"I'm sorry if I failed you. Please don't get angry at me."_

Tin woke up from his sleep after having a nightmare about Can. In his dream, he witnessed Can dying in front of him. For some reason, when he tried to get near Can who was already lifeless and bathing on his own blood, he was unable to approach him. It was truly horrifying and the dream just felt real to him.

Even though Tin was used to seeing blood and death, it was different when it comes to Can. He could just not handle it. He did not want to think about that possibility. He does not know what he will do if something bad were to happen to Can.

"Can will be okay. I believe in him," Tin comforted himself as he took a deep breath. It was only a bad dream. That is all. He will come back safely. 

It has only been two days since Can left, but Tin already misses him. To him, his life does not feel complete if he does not see him or touch him every single day. Knowing that he would not see him for a month only makes it more unbearable for him. He will make sure that he will get his fill when Can comes back. In addition, since Can already confessed to him, they could take their relationship to the next level. This made Tin really happy since he does not have to hold back anymore. This also meant that he has to prepare for their first "papa" experience. Just like Can, Tin has never been in a relationship before, so he never had any sort of romantic experience. 

As the dominant person in the relationship, it was natural that Tin should know how to lead and do the "papa" properly when they do it. So, Tin has decided that he would study the right way of how the male-to-male relationship does it before Can comes back from his trip.

Feeling more relaxed, Tin left his bed and went to the kitchen to make breakfast. Since Tin lost his powers, he has been devoting his time on learning new recipes and cooking. He knew that Can loves food so much so he decided that for the meantime, he would sharpen his cooking skills. He did believe in the saying, "A way to a man's heart is through his stomach." This describes Can quite well. In the future, he wants Can to depend on his cooking so much that when he tries other people's food, he would just puke. That is right, he wants Can to just depend on him. If Can becomes useless because of depending too much on him, then it would be better for him (Tin). He wanted to make sure that Can would not be able to live without him in the future, so that he would not even think of leaving him.

At the kitchen, however, the smell of burnt food spread in the air. Finding the source of that smell led him to the dinner table. In the middle of that table, there was a plate that was covered with a metal dome plate cover. Yet, even if that plate was covered, the smell of charred food still escaped. Tin knew very well who made this mess: his father.

(A/N: Metal Dome Plate Cover)

Since Can was gone, his father took the initiative to do the cooking in the house. Even though he could not cook at all, he still insisted on cooking for the both of them. Tin did not protest. He knew that his father was trying to make up for the lost moments of being a father figure to him. Still, it felt like he was suffering since he has to eat the food that his father made. Of course, he would not want to get stuck with this kind of routine from his father. Eventually, he has to tell his father to either stop cooking or start learning how to cook properly.

Removing the metal cover, he sat down and observed the charred food. When he looked at his food, Tin was not sure what it was that his father cooked in the first place. With a knife and a fork, he cut what seemed to look like meat as it was held in place by his fork. Then, quickly he observed the meat. From inside and out, the meat looked more like coal than food. 

As he prepared himself to try his father's so-called food, his adam's apple bobbed. Hesitatingly, he put it in his mouth and chewed it. As soon as he had a taste of this meat that has charcoal texture and taste, he decided to spit it out on the plate. It tasted quite horrible. Why did it seem that the more his father cooks, the worse the taste of the food becomes?

At that moment, Tin has had enough of his father's horrible cooking. He has decided that he would be the one cooking for them. Taking the plate, he threw away all that trash in the garbage can. Why would he even call it food if it is not edible at all? Calling his father's food trash is more appropriate.

Tin immediately grabbed a glass of water. He did not use it to drink but rather used it to rinse his mouth from the aftertaste of his father's horrible food. After going through that ordeal, he went to the huge refrigerator to get some eggs, scallions, mushrooms, and some condiments. He wanted to make Mushroom and Egg White Omelet for breakfast.

       

(A/N: You can find the recipe online, just search Mushroom and Egg White Omelet.)

While preparing his food for the morning, he turned on the expensive high definition flat screen television to listen to the current news. These past few days a lot of things have happened.

First, someone has leaked the information to the public about him and his father being fugitives. When it was leaked, someone tried to add fake information to make his father and him look worse in the eyes of the public. When this issue that should have been small, suddenly became huge and widespread. The entire country and the international community immediately joined the hunt. With the increased pressure and support from the public to catch them, it became harder for his father and Old Man Khang to communicate with their allies. In addition due to the leak, it became easier for his father and grandfather's close allies to be taken away and sent to prison. Slowly, their enemies are taking over E.A. in Thailand.

The problems do not end there. With this public leak and the growing issue of changes in E.A's leadership in the country, there would be a problem of instability. This instability was used by other foreign branches of E.A. to interfere to make sure that stability in leadership in Thailand's E.A. was maintained. Of course, it was only an excuse. Foreign countries main goal is to control E.A. in Thailand since it is the main source of power and control over all elementalists in the world. Abundant and rare resources that are necessary for an elementalists power were mostly found in this country which was controlled by E.A. in Thailand. If the foreign countries could control this country's E.A., then they would have more advantages and upper-hand in terms of wealth and power. It was for this reason that his father's enemies in the country were trying to cover up this issue to the public. They do not want to drag the sly foreign countries' E.A. to their problems.

Lastly, there is a problem with the emergence of a new cult. Within the span of two days, cultists who called themselves the "Worshippers of the New World" were gaining popularity around the world. The reasons for the cult's popularity were due to its members' ability to see the future and the promises that the cult offered to its members. According to a report, the cult will offer a safe place for its member for the upcoming "new beginning of the world". The report also mentions that in order to become a member, a person must have to go through a mysterious ritual performed by a senior member of the cult. After the ritual, that person will apparently gain the ability to see the very same future that everyone else in the cult could see: the prophesied new world. Whatever that new beginning of the world is, no one really knew what it meant. What was more disturbing and mysterious was the fact that despite its growing popularity, the origin of the cult and the people behind it were still unknown. The major factions such as E.A and B.S.G seemed not to be bothered about this new emerging cult. Most likely they think that this cult, just like any other cults in the past, would not last, so they were not bothered by it at all. Tin thought that something else was going on behind the scenes, but he could not confirm his suspicions at the moment. In any case, he does not have the power to do anything at all. He could only gather pieces of information to see what might the future could become. Despite his uncertainties, one thing was for sure, things would get more complicated. Although it was like this, he thought that as long as Can was there for him, he would be able to overcome whatever was on his way.

After cooking and eating his breakfast, he continued listening to the news as he sat on the couch.

Out of nowhere, Tin's father entered the living room without making any noise.

"You already ate?" Tin's father casually asked his son.

Tin nodded as he took a glimpse of his father.

"How did it go?" Tin asked with an unbothered expression as he fixed his gaze on the television once again.

"One of our remaining allies mentioned that our enemies are going to send a team to assassinate us," Tin's father answered with an unbothered expression just like his son. He went to the kitchen to see if his son ate everything. To his surprise, he did not see any leftover on the table like yesterday. This made him somehow feel satisfied and proud of his son. Even though he was not good at cooking to the point that he himself would not eat his food, his son still ate the food he made. It seemed that despite the things that he did in the past, his son still cares about him. He thought that he should strive harder to take care of his son from now on.

With the papers that contained messages from his allies on his hands, Tin's father burned them and threw it in the garbage can. Yet, as soon as he opened the garbage can, he saw the familiar cooked food that he made earlier.

Tin's father: "....."

When Tin saw the disappointing reaction from his father through the living room, he could not help it but chuckle.

Since Tin's father has sharp senses, when Tin chuckled, his father caught him. 

THIS BRAT!!!

However, when he saw his son's happy expression, his heart softened. In the past, his son would never show such emotion. It was only cold and serious. Of course, he would not blame him for it. Mostly, it was his (Tin's father) fault to begin with that he grew up that way. If only he did not become such an insane person who only cared about revenge, he thought that maybe Tin would have a better and happier life. He could only blame himself for his child's misfortune. If only he could return back in time to fix his mistakes, he would do it in a heartbeat.

All of a sudden, the blue necklace on Tri's neck moved.

"Tri! Quick! We have company!" 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ======
> 
> Sorry for the delay. I was having fun with some friends these past few days XD But here ya go!
> 
> Hmm...this chapter is definitely lacking....i'll do better next time.


	50. Chapter 45 - A Strange Mark Appears

[Beast Gods' Dimension]

In a rainforest, far away from the mountain, a tremor on a muddy ground became apparent as nearby low-level beasts scattered for safety. Slowly, a hole was created on the ground.

From that hole, an unconscious person was pushed out and lay to the muddy ground carefully by a beautiful lady. It was raining quite hard in that area, but the lady was not bothered as she quickly performed simple seals on her hands.

_"Nature's Heart"_

A warm red light surrounded the three arrows that were stuck at the unconscious boy's body and removed them all at the same time. The deep wounds and broken bone caused by the powerful piercings of the arrows were slowly healed.

"Come on!" Bacsojin became more anxious. She checked the boy's pulse, but there was no sign of life.

It was then that she realized it was too late. She could not save him. She did not have any spiritual energy left inside her to do any healing magic. Even if she did, she does not have  powerful and complex healing magic.

At that moment, the only thing she could do was cry in silence. Another good person disappeared. 

Bacsojin asked herself if being saved by Can was useless and hopeless after all. Why does this happen to her? What did she do to deserve this? Was she cursed?

"I'm so-rry. I was too late to save you. I'm s-orry, Can." Bacsojin covered her face with both of her hands as she cried even more. While she cried in sorrow, the rain seemed to respond too as it became stronger.

When Bacsojin covered her face as she mourns Can's death, she did not notice a slight yellow glow on his chest. That yellow glow then formed into a mysterious symbol. After that mysterious symbol was formed, the yellow glow disappeared leaving the symbol behind on Can's chest.

Momentarily, strong violent lightning appeared in the dark cloudy sky as it produced strong sounds of thunder throughout the rainforest where the two were in. Since it was dark due to the ongoing storm, the lightning in the sky was the only source of light.

When lightning was formed that struck the parts of the rainforest, a huge bird seemed to appear in the sky as it encircled the rainforest. It seemed that it was looking for a prey. When it suddenly noticed Bacsojin and Can, it immediately encircled them and let out a terrifying screech.

Hearing the screech, Bacsojin instantly recognized the beast as she looked up. It was the Gryphon.

Gryphon is an Epic Grade level beast that has the head and wings of an eagle as its body is a form of a lion. Instead of two legs, it has four legs that have an eagle's claws.

(A/N: Gryphon from Ragnarok Online)

By the looks of it, the Gryphon seemed to find the two of them as its prey. If it was before, Bacsojin could easily kill Gryphon without wasting a breath. Unfortunately, she does not have any spiritual energy left in her. There was no way she could win against this huge bird. Still, she would not give up without a fight.

As the Gryphon quickly flew towards the direction of the two, Bacsojin turned into her original form: a huge white snake. She was stronger in this form rather than in human form.

The Gryphon's target was actually Can, who was still lying down on the ground. Based on its observation, the person lying was dead. For the big bird, it was easier with dead prey than a living one. 

With its open large claws, the Gryphon tried to get Can as it disregards Bacsojin.

Knowing that the bird will take Can, Bacsojin used this as an opportunity to attack the bird.

"You think I'd just let you take him that easily!" Bacsojin opened her mouth which revealed her huge fangs. As soon as the bird got close to Can, she bit the Gryphon's neck as she encircled its body with hers.

When the Gryphon was bitten, it immediately screeched. It attempted to break free from Bacsojin as it grabbed parts of the white snake's body with its sharp claws. The two struggled and fought each other around the rainforest.

"Ack!" Blood flowed out from the white snake's body where the claws were attached. Since she was stubborn, Bacsojin did not let go and continued to fight the bird. Still, the gap of power between the two still showed.

Since the Gryphon has the Lightning element, it immediately covered itself with lightning.

It was too late when Bacsojin attempted to let go of the bird from her grip. She was shocked by the powerful lightning that was covering the bird that caused her to fall on the ground. Her beautiful white scales were charred. Her once proud appearance as a white snake was replaced with ugly black burn scales and deep wounds. This was not her concern at the moment as she looked at the bird that was approaching Can. She tried to move, but she was unable too. It was too painful to move and she lost all of her strength.

Soon, the storm was clearing up as the sunlight pierces the dark clouds. The destruction that was left behind in the rainforest became evident. There were fallen trees that were destroyed by the powerful lightning in the sky, but most of them were caused by the fight between the two giant beasts.

"C-Can...." Before she lost her consciousness, Bacsojin saw the Gryphon grab Can as it flew away leaving her behind.

Now that it has its prey, the Gryphon decided to go back to its nest to feed its young. Located at the top of a cliff in the desert, the bird flapped its wings faster in order to get to the nest as fast as possible. While flying, the bird did not notice that its prey seemed to be moving slightly.

Can's eyebrows were twitching as they formed a frown while his eyes were still closed. Slowly, his cold body started to regain its warmth and color. Then his heart started to pump blood as it regains its natural flow of heartbeat. Eventually, all of the necessary parts of his body started to react and move.

When he opened his eyes, the first thing that Can saw was a huge vast desert below him.

"Is this heaven?" Can asked himself as he looked around. He quickly noticed a huge claw that was grabbing him. As he looked up, he saw the huge bird flapping its wings. He managed to recognize the bird. It was the Gryphon.

"Why would heaven have a Gryphon and a desert?" Can was confused. The last thing that he knew was that he was shot in the heart and died. It would be impossible for him to live unless there was some sort of magic that was used in order for him to be alive. Even if that was the case, how did he end up in this situation with the Gryphon?

While thinking about his odd situation, the Gryphon finally reached its nest on the side of a high cliff that has a small cave in it. It immediately let go of Can's body to the nest for its young. Thinking that its prey was dead, it flew once again to find another prey. Even though it was slightly injured, taking care of its young was more important, so it did not let its injuries bother it as it flew away.

(A/N: How imagine it would look like. Photo is not mine.)

"Ouch!" Can hissed in pain when his head hit the sturdy branches that made up the huge nest. Patting his head, he quickly looked at his surrounding. The moment he saw skeletons around the nest, he tensed. At that moment, he knew that this was not heaven. Was he in hell then?

"Chirp! chirp!" Can turned around and saw three small chicks staring at him. One of the chicks seemed to be curious as it moved its head from left to right. The other one was licking its beak. The other one seemed to be cautious around Can.

(A/N: Picky from Ragnarok Online)

Observing the three chicks, they were half the size of Can's height. Thankfully, they seemed to be only a couple of months old, so they have not transformed yet and were not quite powerful like their parent. Still, Can had to be cautious after seeing the skeletons around the nest.

"Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!" The three chicks looked at one another. They huddled together as they seemed to be discussing their plan after seeing a living food for the first time in their nest. When they finished their discussion, the bravest one of the three chicks, who licked its beak earlier, slowly approached Can. It opened its mouth and tried to eat Can.

"Bad bird!" Can immediately hit the chick's head. For some reason, the chick's actions resembled Gucci's characteristics when he was still in his infancy stage. When Gucci would badly behave, he would discipline him. Although, it was natural for this chick to act this way, Can just felt disciplining it. He must have missed Gucci so much. He thought that he should summon him later and see how he is.

When the chick got hit in the head, it used its wings to pat its head. It was the first time that it got punished. Its mother never punished it, so when the living prey hit its head, the little chick cried.

When Can saw the little chick cry, his obsession with cute small beasts kicked in. His heart softened as he approached the small chick.

"I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to hit you that hard." Can petted the little chick's head to comfort it.

When the little chick looked up, it stopped crying as it felt sudden comfort from being petted by the living prey.

"Chirp! Chirp!" The other two chicks immediately went to their sibling's side as they tried to protect him from Can.

When Can saw how the two reacted, he could not help it, but to reach to their heads and pet them too.

"So cute!"

Can wished he brought a camera with him and took pictures with these three chicks. It was unfortunate that he was too poor to afford one.

Feeling the sudden comfort, the other two chicks immediately relaxed.

The three chicks looked at one another and thought that this living prey should not be eaten. As they nodded to one another, they competed with each other as they tried to get Can's attention to pet them.

"Hehe. Okay, I know. Don't fight each other." Can smiled as he tried to pet the three chicks at the same time. Eventually, he was able to tame the three chicks who were lying down next to him.

When he had the chance to look at the surrounding area of the nest more intently, he looked down to see how high he was from the bottom of the cliff, but he could not see the bottom at all. The bottom of the cliff stretches out quite as far as the eye could see and was covered in white mist, so it was hard to determine how high he was. It seemed that climbing down the cliff was not an option for him. The only way out of the nest was to climb up. As of now, he could not summon any of his contracted beasts since his spiritual energy has been depleted completely and still recovering.

       

(A/N: How I imagine the bottom of the cliff. Not mine.)

When Can looked up, although the top of the cliff was not too far, climbing up seemed to be dangerous. There were hardly enough stable places where he could position himself if he climbs up. The stones of the side of the cliff were also sharp.

Still, if he stayed here, the adult Gryphon could come back anytime to kill him so he must come up with a decision as soon as possible. He also wanted to go back to his team and Bacsojin. He wanted to know how they were. He hoped that all of them were safe, especially Bacsojin.

Standing up slowly as not to wake up the little chicks, he once again looked at the bottom of the cliff. There was something odd about it, how could there be white mist at the bottom of the cliff that was surrounded by a hot desert? Can thought about and concluded that the white mist was not ordinary.

While he was observing the white mist at the bottom of the cliff, a loud screeching sound could be heard. It startled, not only the little chicks that were sleeping but also Can. Due to being startled, Can accidentally slipped and fell from the nest. He tried to grab to the strong branches of the nest, but he failed, so he continued to fall to the bottom of the cliff. 

Does this mean he was going to die once again!? What bad luck he has!

As he plunged down, the last thing that he saw was the heads of three chicks at the edge of the nest where he fell from. They were chirping in distress.

Slowly, Can lost consciousness as the mysterious white mist covered his body. The mysterious symbol on his chest, once again, glowed. Then Can's body was covered by a yellow barrier and did not allow the white mist to penetrate it. When Can finally reached the bottom, he was slowly laid down on the ground. At the very bottom, there was no mist at all. There were just ordinary ground soil and cliff walls. Surprisingly, there were torches on the cliff walls which help illuminate the bottom of the cliff.

Not too far away from Can's body was a mysterious person who was also carrying a torch. When he saw a person lying down, he suddenly felt excited. He thought that he was not alone in this horrible and lonely place finally. Quickly, he approached him.

Seeing that there was no sign of blood on the ground, it seemed that this unconscious person was still alive. After confirming that he still has a pulse, the man tapped Can's cheeks with his dirty hand.

"Hello, Stranger! Wake up!" The man did not get a response, but still, a smile on his face finally showed up after what seemed to be an eternity since the last time he smiled.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you go! Finally Can is alive!
> 
> By the way, I was busy these past few days, so I was unable to update! Sorry. 
> 
> Alright that's all for now. Enjoy!


	51. Chapter 46 - Escape Plan

In his unconscious state, Can heard a mysterious voice instructing him.

 _"You are my new successor,"_  the voice of man said as it echoed in Can's head.

 _"Successor? What do you mean? Who are you?"_  Can replied.

 _"That symbol on your chest shall be your proof and guide. You must find the last Beast God of this dimension. He will help you,"_  the mysterious man said.

Can wanted to ask more questions since he was confused with what this mysterious man was saying, but he was woken up suddenly.

Opening his eyes, he saw a mysterious man on his side carrying a torch.

"Young man! Hello? Are you okay?" asked by the mysterious man who looked quite dirty. His voice was different from the other man who talked to him when he was unconscious.

Sticking the torch to the ground, the man held Can's head carefully.

"Wh-who are you? Where am I?" Can asked while scanning the area that he was in. There were torches in this place, so he was able to see the area more clearly. Still, aside from the mysterious man and the torches, there were only stones, dirt, and a cloud of dense white mist above them.

"I'm Xu Xian and you're in the Clouded Mist. What's your name and how'd you get here? Do you feel pain anywhere?" the mysterious man with mud on his face asked as he smiled excitedly.

(A/N: If you guys don't know Xu Xian is from the Chinese legend, "Legend of the White Snake".)

Can observed the person in front of him, but It was hard to determine his facial structure due to the dirt on his face. When he looked at his clothes, although they were also covered in dirt, Can could determine that they were old and full of tears. He wondered how long this guy was stuck in this place.

"I'm Can Rathavit. I'm alright. I-I fell from the cliff by accident. The last thing I remembered was the white mist," Can replied. When he got up, he felt a little dizzy and he staggered. Thankfully, Xu Xian supported him.

"Ahh, I see. It's a good thing you didn't get injured when you fell here," Xu Xian happily said as he took the torch on the ground.

"Thank you. Umm, I've never heard about the Clouded Mist." When Can was studying the complete map that his master gave to him, he never encountered Clouded Mist on the map. Does this mean that the map he had was incomplete?

"That's to be expected. This place was not supposed to exist in the first place. Also, I'm the one who named this area "Clouded Mist". Haha," Xu Xian proudly declared.

Can's mouth just fell. Was this guy being serious?

"I don't quite understand what you're saying Xu Xian."

Xu Xian coughed as he changed his expression to a serious one.

"Let me explain. Are you familiar with the story of how the Beast Gods' Dimension came to be?" Xu Xian faced Can.

Can nodded. "Yes, according to my master, the Beast Gods created this dimension for them to live until for some unknown reason they left. Then, it was the First Beast Summoner who managed this dimension. After he passed away, no one else managed it."

Xu Xian nodded his head in satisfaction.

"You're right, but you're missing another important detail," Xu Xian replied as he pointed his finger towards Can.

The little beast summoner frowned as he became curious. "What's missing?"

"Not all of the Beast Gods left this dimension. There was one who stayed, but not by choice. To be exact, that Beast God was imprisoned," Xu Xian answered.

"An imprisoned Beast God? How's this related to the Clouded Mist?" Can asked as his eyes widened in curiosity.

Seeing the young man's eager look, Xu Xian did not let the suspense extend any longer.

"The said Beast God was imprisoned underground somewhere that was surrounded by a special white mist that sucks spiritual energy," he explained.

"Initially, when this story spread in the human world, every Beast Summoners wanted to come  in this dimension in hopes to free the Beast God and attempt to make it a contracted beast. Yet, hundreds of years have passed and none of them found the underground prison. Eventually, this story died down."

Looking that Can was still paying attention patiently, Xu Xian continued.

"Even though everyone has forgotten about this story, my team back then believed that the underground prison exists. So when the portal to the Beast Gods' Dimension opened, my team immediately entered and looked at different places to find the underground prison. I was assigned to search the southern part of the dimension. While I was traveling in this desert region, a huge crack on the ground suddenly appeared which created this area. When I saw the white mist from above, it was then I realized that this place could be the underground prison. I immediately reported back to my team and we decided to come to this place. When we arrived at the cliff, my teammates' attitude changed as if they became a different person. They all attacked me at once which caused me to fall in here. To this day, I still don't know what happened to them to act that way."

When Can heard about Xu Xian and his teammates attacking him all at once, he remembered the situation that happened to Ae. He then also remembered when team Thailand entered the dimension, he heard about the leader of Team U.S.A explaining that his contracted beast started attacking on its own. It seemed something or someone was controlling them, but who or what?

"Anyways, on how this crack on the ground came to be, I suspect that this dimension is starting to break. Without someone controlling and maintaining this dimension, it's becoming more unstable. As it becomes unstable, the dimension's foundation weakens. I'm afraid that this dimension would be destroyed eventually," Xu Xian speculated.

"You're very knowledgeable of this place, Xu Xian," Can praised.

Xu Xian scratched his nose. "Hehe. I know I am! Just ask me anything about this place and I'll have the answer."

"If that's the case, do you know how to get out of Clouded Mist?" Can quickly asked.

When he heard that question, Xu Xian suddenly became stiff.

"Umm...I'm sorry Can, but there's no way out of this place," Xu Xian scratched his head apologetically.

"What!? H-how could that be? The-there must be a way?" Can anxiously said loudly causing echoes in the area. There must be a way out of this place. He cannot stay here! He has a family and friends to go back to!

"I understand how you feel, but you see....I've been in this place for a long time. I've traveled this area multiple times already, there's no way out. You might already know it, but this place does not even have spiritual energy due to the white mist above us. If you try to climb, the force of the white mist will bring you down no matter how hard you tried. Believe me, I've tried different ways to get out. None of them worked." Xu Xian attempt to comfort Can as he caressed his back.

"I'm sorry, Can."

Can was momentarily stunned, but he remembered the voice of the mysterious man earlier when he was unconscious.

The mysterious man said something about the symbol on his chest as proof and guide. Quickly, he pulled down the upper part of his traditional Korean clothing. With the light provided by the torches, Can looked at his chest. To his surprise, he found a symbol that was quite familiar to him. There were parallel lines and in between those lines was an 'X' mark. There was also a zigzag line on each side of those parallel lines. That's right! It's from the sketch that his old master drew!

(A/N: Refer to Chapter 28 - Field Trip.)

Meanwhile, when Xu Xian saw that Can was undressing, he immediately looked away.

"Can, I know that we just met and even though you're the only person I know in this place, I-I consider myself as a straight man. I-I am also taken and still loyal to the person I love," Xu Xian nervously replied.

Can: "...."

Can recognized what Xu Xian was thinking, so as he shook his head, he replied, "I'm not going to do anything with you at all. I just had to confirm something." Besides, he has a person who he loves too, but he does not have to announce it to him.

Xu Xian faced Can once again and immediately saw the symbol on his chest. It also looked familiar to him.

"I have seen that symbol somewhere in this place. How come you have it on your chest?" Xu Xian's eyes widened in surprise and wonder.

Fixing his clothes, Can explained to Xu Xian the short conversation he had with the mysterious person when he was unconscious.

"Ah! If what you're telling me is true, then could it be that the mysterious man is the First Beast Summoner? The-then if he chose you as his successor....." Xu Xian immediately hugged Can. His eyes started to form tears.

"I-It means that we have a chance to get out of this place! I-I could meet Bacsojin finally!" Xu Xian happily shouted as his voice echoed. After getting stuck in this place for so long and losing hope, he finally has a chance to get out.

"You-your Bacsojin's lover?" Can asked with a surprised expression.

Xu Xian faced Can and grabbed his shoulders with both of his hands with some force. "You know her?"

"Ye-yes, she's been waiting for your return," Can replied. The coincidence to see Bacsojin's lover in this place is truly amazing.

"Hold on, it doesn't make sense. Bacsojin's lover is a human and she's been waiting for you to return for thousands of years. How's it possible for you to still be alive?" Can was confused. In the mortal world, the longest living man in history was about 500 years old. That person was a powerful and renowned alchemist. In any case, for a mortal to live for thousands of years, that's not possible at all.

"Bacsojin has been waiting for me that long? I didn't know that it was already been thousands of years since the last time we saw each other." Xu Xian did not know how long exactly he has been stuck in this place since it is impossible to tell and track time. The white mist above them did not allow anything to penetrate it, so whether it was daytime or night, he could not tell.

"Bacsojin, you really waited for me." Xu Xian looked up and sighed. While clenching his hands into fists as his tears from his eyes fall, he promised to himself that he would see her no matter what it takes. With a new hope of escaping this prison, Xu Xian's dream of being with his lover was once again ignited. Just like Can, he was determined to get out.

"To answer your question about my lifespan, I've consumed the Soul Fire. Aside from giving me a more powerful spiritual core, it also granted me immortality. Hehe, I'm cool right?" Xu Xian bragged as he returned to his enthusiastic self.

"What? You've already consumed the Soul Fire?" Can was dumbfounded. His body suddenly felt weak as he kneeled. The main goal of his trip to the Beast Gods' Dimension was to find and obtain the Soul Fire for Tin so that he would get a new spiritual core. Without it, then he came to this place for no reason.

"Wha-what's wrong Can? Did I say something inappropriate? Are you okay?" Xu Xian caressed Can's back to comfort him.

What should he do now? Without the Soul Fire, how would Tin return his powers?

Can then thought what the mysterious man said. If he could find the imprisoned Beast God, then maybe there's another way to help Tin!

He hoped that there was another way to help him.

Standing up, Can said, "I'm alright."

His journey has barely started and he should not give up too easily. Giving up means he has already lost. He does not want that.

"Xu Xian, please lead me to where you found the mysterious symbol."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Here's another chapter. Hope you guys enjoy it. See you next time!


	52. Chapter 47 - Beast God of Mischief

After spending an unknown amount of time of traveling somewhere in the Clouded Mist, Xu Xian told Can that the two of them will rest for a bit. Since his new companion was tired, it was better to let him rest.

"No, I'm okay. We can keep on going," Can said as he was huffing.

Although Can was reluctant to rest due to his determination to get to their destination as soon as possible, his body did not listen. The moment he stopped moving, his body that was covered with sweat and dirt somehow felt heavy which forced him to sit down.

Seeing that Can looked determined to still continue to move despite how exhausted he was to the point that he was about to collapse, Xu Xian insisted on making him rest.

"I know you want to get to our destination as soon as possible, but it would be useless if you're dead when we get there. You have to take care of yourself. We still have a long way to go," Xu Xian said with a smile while sitting down.

Can could only sigh as he nodded towards Xu Xian. Since there was no spiritual energy flowing in the Clouded Mist, it was quite easy for him to get more tired than usual. Meanwhile, Xu Xian seemed not to be tired at all. Is this one of the immortal's powers?

While wiping the sweat on his face, he took out food and water from his storage ring. It was a good thing that his master gave him a lot of food for this trip, although the amount of food that he gave him could last for 3 years. Isn't this a little bit too much master?

Sticking the torch to the ground, Xu Xian faced Can when he saw him taking out food. Even though he is an immortal who does not require basic human necessities, it did not mean that he disliked food. So the moment he saw food, he started salivating as his Adam's apple moved up and down. He wanted to try Can's food, but he felt guilty since he did not want to reduce his (Can) ration of food.

Immediately, when Can noticed the intense look in the eyes of his immortal companion on his food, he offered him a simple fried chicken with ketchup from his hands.

"Xu Xian, here try some," Can said as he handed his fried chicken to Xu Xian.

"I-It's ok, Can. Since I'm already an immortal, I don't have to eat or drink at all," Xu Xian explained. Still, the expression on his face deceived his words.

"I have a lot of food in my storage ring, I don't mind sharing. Please take it," Can insisted.

Finally, Xu Xian did not resist and took Can's fried chicken.

"Ish dericious. Thangs Can!" ("It's delicious. Thanks, Can!")

Can chuckled as he said, "No problem."

Suddenly, Can remembered that scene when his family ate breakfast with Tin. He definitely remembered when Tin ate an entire plate of ham and cheese hot pockets. This particular memory was truly precious to Can. He wished he could just go back in time and experienced it once again.

"Remembering someone?" Xu Xian asked while chewing the bones of the fried chicken.

Can faced him as he nodded. He suddenly felt sad. He missed his loved ones already.

"You'll be with them. Don't worry." Xu Xian reassured as he gave a thumbs up to his little companion.

Can returned to his spirited attitude as he continued to eat his food. I will surely return home!

Soon, the two talked to one another and got to know each other more. Can found out that Xu Xian was born in China. Growing up in a powerful and renowned family of beast summoners, he was considered as a prodigy in the country. Still, he was pushed by his family to become stronger so they encouraged him to train. Due to the strictness and the pressure given by his family, he felt isolated. It was only during special events where he could interact with others, but even then, everyone feared him. Those who were close to him just wanted to use him for selfish gains. In reality, despite being given so much attention and admiration from people, he was unhappy with his life.

When he was tasked to enter the Beast Gods Dimension in order to find the imprisoned Beast God, it was there where his pitiful life changed. While he was traveling, he was momentarily lost in the mountain. He found a river in the mountain and decided to go fishing. Then he saw her, the love of his life.

At first, the two fought after seeing each other.

"I fell in love with her after our first encounter," Xu Xian chuckled as he recalled their first meeting.

====

_Bacsojin saw that a mortal was in her territory. She initiated an attack to the human, but to her surprise, she failed. It was the first time that a mortal managed to dodge her sneak attack, but she did not easily back down._

_"You're in my territory! Get out or I'll kill you!" Bacsojin shouted._

_Xu Xian faced at the beautiful woman not too far away from him._

_"I don't see your name around here. It just means that this area is not yours," Xu Xian said undisturbed as he continued fishing._

_"This is your last warning mortal! Get out!" Bacsojin continued. She was annoyed._

_Xu Xian just ignored her._

_Bacsojin was lost for words. How dare this human ignore her! In this dimension, she is well respected by other beasts, even the powerful ones. For a human to do this to her, he needs a beating._

_In an instant, Bacsojin quickly initiated an attack against him. Luckily, Xu Xian was prepared. His contracted beasts already lent their powers to him before his encounter with Bacsojin._

_Xu Xian took out his two swords from his storage ring and traded blows with Bacsojin. The two of them were on a stalemate, but after fighting until the evening, he managed to defeat Bacsojin._

_"Hah! I win young lady," Xu Xian said with a triumphant look on his face while the edge of the sword was on Bacsojin's neck._

_For the first time in her life, Bacsojin lost a fight. She lost to a human at that. Suddenly, her pride as a powerful and unbeatable beast was crushed. She thought that everyone will now make fun of her. At that moment she could only cry._

_"Uwaah!" Bacsojin rubbed her eyes that were full of tears while she lied on the ground._

_"Aiyah! what are you crying for?" Xu Xian put back his two swords to his storage ring._

_"I-I lost! I lost to a weakling! Uwaa!" Bacsojin replied._

_"You're not cute," Xu Xian scratched his head as he felt offended. He just defeated her! Who is the actual weakling here?_

_Bacsojin stood up and looked at Xu Xian into his eyes. Trying to toughen herself up while still crying, she shouted, "I'll be back!"_

_This was the first time someone did not fear him and even managed to threaten him. He thought that the young lady would leave after being defeated. Who would have thought that she was bold enough to say that she will come back for revenge. Xu Xian felt rather happy after hearing what she said. In addition,_ _the angry crying expression that she had back then was actually cute. It somehow made Xu Xian want to tease and bully the young lady more._

_"I'll be waiting for this young lady then" Xu Xian winked as he smiled to Bacsojin._

_"Hmph!" Bacsojin retreated back to the woods to plan her revenge._

_The following days continued with similar results. Bacsojin would be defeated and would cry, but she would always return to the same place for revenge. As the days passed by, from time to time, the two would talk to one another. This allowed the two to know and understand one another. After some time, the two felt more comfortable with one another as they decided to stop fighting.  Xu Xian would offer Bacsojin food and teach her about his culture. Every time Bacsojin would get food or learn new things from Xu Xian, she would always smile like an idiot. As they got to know each other more, love just blossomed like a flower unexpectedly._

=======

After their talk, Can went to sleep. Meanwhile, Xu Xian just looked above him that was filled with white mist. He was recalling all the happy memories he had with her. Living for a very long time, those moments were the only ones he truly treasured.

When Can woke up, Xu Xian was already awake although Can did not know whether Xu Xian also fell asleep. Still, judging by his expression, he looked happy and hopeful.

The two continued to move after Can prepared himself.

After doing several rounds of traveling and resting, the two finally reached their destination.

"Can, we're here," Xu Xian said as he used his torch on his hand to show the mysterious symbol that was engraved on the stone wall. The symbol was huge which was approximately the same height as Can himself.

When he looked at the symbol, Can's chest suddenly felt hot as a yellow light appeared. Then, the symbol on the wall also glowed with the same color.

Suddenly, the ground shook. Both Xu Xian and Can moved away from the wall as it began to crumble which gradually exposed a tunnel inside.

When the shaking stopped, the two looked at one another.

"This would probably lead us to the Beast God," Can said while holding a torch on his hand.

"Let's check it out then," Xu Xian replied as an excited smile left his face.

As the two went in the dark tunnel, the white mist in the Clouded Mist gradually disappeared. With its disappearance, the natural spiritual energy seeped slowly in the dark tunnel.

"Heh......this f*cking prison finally collapsed....I'm now free......Hehe." 

Collecting spiritual energy from his surroundings, he managed to stand up. He took a step, but he staggered and fell. After thousands of years of being trapped in this place, his body has become weaker. It will take some time until he fully recovers his full power. 

While he tried to stand up, he suddenly sensed two unknown individuals coming towards the direction of this dark cold room made of magical black stone that once suppressed his powers. With a wave of his hand, a small orb of light illuminated the huge room where he stayed.

"This Beast God of Mischief shall have his feast first....."

A small mischievous smile showed on his cracked lips as he licked them. 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> =========
> 
> Another update! Enjoy!


	53. Chapter 48 - The New Owner of Beast Gods' Dimension

When Can and Xu Xian went further into the tunnel, they eventually found a room that was made of black stone.

Before they could enter the room that was already illuminated, sounds of low gurgling croak and flapping of wings from the outside could be heard. As the sounds get closer, the louder they became. Soon deep inside, aside from two torches that lit the dark tunnel, multiple red menacing eyes glowed.

"Black ravens?" Xu Xian asked with a confused expression as he saw multiple black ravens going inside the room made of black stone.

"Why would they suddenly go inside that room?" Can immediately crouched as the flock of birds continuously flew inside the room.

"We will find out soon enough. Be careful, Can," Xu Xian warned.

When there were no more birds going in, the two got up and slowly entered the room.

"Huh? It's empty? Where did those birds go?" Xu Xian scratched his head in the mystery. Aside from a small orb of light on the ceiling of the huge room, there was nothing inside. It was completely empty.

Can observed the walls of the room. "Could there be another passage? A hidden passage perhaps?"

Xu Xian nodded. "That could be it."

As the two discussed and observed the walls of the room, they did not notice the growing black raven shaped shadow behind them. This shadow seemed to be absorbing the shadows of small black ravens in silence.

After completing the absorption, the black raven shaped shadow suddenly turned into a human. With both of his hand, he instantly grabbed both of Can and Xu Xian's neck.

"GOT YOU! Haha!" the Beast God of Mischief ecstatically shouted as he lifted the two from the ground. As the two struggled to break free from his grasp with their weak strength, the beast god could not help it but smile in delight. It has been a long time since he was able to catch prey to feed on. Although it was not necessary for a beast god like him to catch or eat preys, he finds satisfaction at seeing them die with his own hands.

"Ack!" Dropping both of their torches, Can and Xu Xian could not remove the hands of this mysterious person on their necks. This person was too strong!

"Interesting, a mortal and an immortal," the beast god slightly move his head to the side with wonder.

"I'm curious how both of you would taste! Let's start with the mortal!" the Beast God looked at Can with a menacing smile. As he opened his mouth to suck Can's spiritual energy, the mysterious symbol on Can's chest suddenly glowed. Within a few moments, the Beast God found itself lying on the ground as a huge crack where he fell formed.

Coughing a mouthful of blood, he got up.

The beast god looked up at the two who also just stood up. "What the f*ck just happened?"

Immediately, he noticed Can and the faint yellow glow on his chest that was covered by his clothing. While looking at the little beast summoner, he also noticed a mysterious figure covered in yellow light.

At that moment, the beast god's body shook. It was the spirit of the First Beast Summoner!

"You...you're supposed to be dead al-already," the nervous beast god said as he pointed with his pale and wounded hand at the direction of the spirit of the First Beast Summoner behind Can.

Remaining on guard as they caught their breath, Xu Xian and Can look at the mysterious person. They did not know exactly what happened earlier, but it seemed that the mysterious symbol on Can's chest protected both of them.

When they saw that the mysterious person in front of them was shaking in fear, they were mystified.

Earlier the beast god called its servants, the black ravens, in the dark tunnel.

Before he was imprisoned for eternity by other more powerful beast gods, he commanded his black ravens to find a way to free him in the future. It seemed that they succeeded...or so he thought.

When he absorbed all the information that the black ravens have collected throughout the thousands of years in this dimension while he was in the underground prison, he thought that he was finally free. One of the crucial information that he received, aside from the annoying beast gods leaving this dimension, was the death of the First Beast Summoner. According to his servants, after the annoying beast gods left this dimension, the ownership was transferred to the First Beast Summoner. This meant that the First Beast Summoner had control over the entire dimension. This ownership even included the beast god himself!

Yet, when he died, no one assumed control over the dimension, so naturally, the dimension would start to become unstable and to crumble. Still, the beast god was kept imprisoned even after the owner's death.

When the beast summoners started entering and exploiting the dimension, the instability of the dimension seemed to have increased. Soon, the black ravens found out that manipulating and allowing the beast summoners to kill each other would spread impurities and evil energy in the dimension which would replace the pure spiritual energy in the dimension. Such type of energy would cause this dimension that relies on pure spiritual energy to be ruined at a much faster rate.

When the beast god thought that he was finally free after the seal of the underground prison was destroyed, the spirit of the First Beast Summoner would suddenly show up with his new successor. This just meant that this little beast summoner has control over the dimension and the beast god himself! Why was this happening to him? Didn't he already spend thousands of years in this prison to pay for the crimes he committed? Would it have been better if he just died after all?

Looking at the person that seemed to be in a state of fear, Can suddenly heard a voice behind him. It was the First Beast Summoner.

Listening to him carefully, Can found out that the person in front of him was the Beast God of Mischief: Pond. Amongst the other beast gods, Pond ranked the lowest. Apparently, since birth, he was ridiculed and bullied by the other beast gods for being the weakest. Due to this, Pond went to a crooked path and became evil. In the end, his evil deeds were suppressed after the emperor of the beast gods imprisoned him and sentenced him to eternal imprisonment. Towards the end, Pond was the one who still suffered. 

When the First Beast Summoner found out about this, he thought that there might still be a chance to change Pond. He did not choose himself to guide Pond since he thought that he was not the right person to do it and because he knew he was about to die. Not choosing to become immortal in order to be with his loved one finally, the First Beast Summoner died eventually. Before he died, he performed a powerful magical spell to create a spiritual replica of himself. The goal of the spiritual replica of himself was to find a suitable successor that would take care of the dimension and Pond. After thousands of years, the First Beast Summoner was able to find his new successor: Can.

(A/N: I've been thinking on how I would use Pond in this story. I decided that he would become the Beast God of Mischief (Trouble/Naughty) since he was truly a naughty person XD)

"I have to kill him before he could assume control over me," Pond whispered to himself as he looked on the ground. 

"I'm not going to let you take my freedom again!" Pond screamed as he moved forward to attack while wearing only a black cloak that was full of rips.

"Pond, sit!" Can said with a firm voice.

Halting his attack, Pond felt that he was being controlled as he was forced to sit down.

Pond attempted to get up, but he was unable to. He was really angry and frustrated. "F*CK YOU! ALL OF YOU SHOULD DIE ALREADY!!!"

"Pond, silence."

Pond's mouth was forced to close. "HMMFFF!"

Although the beast god tried to talk, it was useless.

Knowing that his actions were pointless, Pond stopped struggling.

Once again, he failed. He thought that he will be imprisoned again. In his mind, he could hear everyone ridiculing him. Although at this point, he was already numb from it. Yet, no matter how much he tried to forget, those memories from the past would still show up.

Staring at the black stone wall, his eyes were once again filled with emptiness and loss of hope.

Suddenly, he felt something on his head.

When he looked up, he saw that he was being patted gently on the head by the successor.

"Eh?" Pond asked himself as he became dumbfounded. All the painful memories from the past seemed to vanish as his mind was filled with the questionable actions of the person in front of him.

"Good!" Can said with a smile as he continued to pat the head of the beast god. It was surprisingly soft, so he continued to pat his head.

"What are you doing?" Pond whispered while looking up at Can.

"Hmm...well my father used to tell me that when a beast does something good, you pat their head and praise them," Can replied.

Pond just continued to stare at Can. As he continued to pat his head, he felt surprisingly warm.

"What a good boy! Just like an obedient dog," Can continued.

Realizing that he was being compared to a dog, Pond suddenly became angry and aggressive.

"Who are you calling a dog, you dumbass! Don't compare me to that stupid Beast God that looked like a dumb dog! Dumbass," Pond yelled while still sitting down.

"Haha! You are similar to him but more expressive!" Can continued to tease Pond. He was referring to Tin.

Xu Xian, who witnessed the whole interaction between the two, could not help it but be confused. Didn't the person who was sitting down just tried to kill them earlier? What's with this sudden weird turn of events?

"Xu Xian, do you want to pat Pond's head? It's surprisingly soft" Can asked as he looked at the direction of Xu Xian.

Xu Xian's mouth just twitched. Just what exactly is happening right now?

"Can, what are you doing with him? We don't even know him," Xu Xian commented while seeing that Can continued to tease the restrained person.

"The First Beast Summoner said that he is the Beast God of Mischief: Pond," Can replied.

"He's an actual Beast God?" Xu Xian's eyes widened as his mouth dropped from surprise.

"Do you have a problem with that, you gorilla looking immortal?" Pond said as he insulted Xu Xian.

"Go-Gorilla looking immortal!?" Xu Xian's mouth continued to twitch.

"Pond, behave," Can instructed.

"Tch!" Pond clicked his tongue as he looked away.

After seeing that Pond did not resist his patting anymore, Can thought that he was able to establish a friendly connection with Pond even if it was small.

"Pond, as the new successor of this dimension, I won't lock you up in this place anymore, but..."

Hearing Can's words, Pond faced him and paid attention carefully.

"But what?" Pond asked as his heart started to pound faster from the anticipation.

"You have to become my contracted beast," Can calmly said.

Not thinking about his choices, Pond immediately replied.

"I'll be your contracted beast even though it's shameful for a beast god like me to do so. I have no other choice. I don't want to be in prison!"

In secret, Pond was plotting a way to kill Can. Being a contracted beast could be a great opportunity to kill him.

Can decided to form a contract with Pond, so that it would be easier to look after him and control his actions. The power given to him by the First Beast Summoner could only apply in the Beast Gods' Dimension and not in other dimensions. Since Can would not stay in this dimension permanently, it would be better to form a contract, so that he could summon Pond in an instant wherever he is.

After the two formed a contract, Can immediately asked Pond for assistance to find his teammates.

Pond faced him and casually answered him, "Your teammates? They already left this dimension 7 months ago."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> =======
> 
> Hello Everyone! I've been busy these past few days, so I'm sorry about the slow updates! I'll try harder to post! Anyways, Thank you! I'll see you later!


	54. Chapter 49 - The Moment Can Died

"7 months ago? That long already? It felt like we've only been here for a week!" Can was shocked. He knew that it was impossible to determine the time in the Clouded Mist, but it was hard to believe that he was stuck in this place for such a long time. If this was the case, then everyone back in their world must have thought that he was already dead! Everyone that was close to him must be in so much pain and sorrow, especially his family. Knowing his mother and sister, they might feel quite miserable after they received the news of his death. To lose another family member would crush their hearts once again. 

His old master would probably be disappointed at him. His friends would be heartbroken.

And the moment Can thought about how Tin would react to his death, he was not quite sure how Tin would handle it. He could not imagine what Tin could possibly do.

Thinking all of this, he must return back to his own world as soon as possible.

Seeing the worry on Can's face, Xu Xian comforted him as he said "Can, don't worry. Since you're the new owner of this dimension, you should be able to open a portal back to our world."

Can faced Xu Xian and nodded. "You're right."

"Yes, as the new owner of this dimension, you have the ability to open a portal but..." Pond teasingly said towards his new owner.

"But what?" Can asked as he became anxious.

With a malicious smile, Pond replied, "You must be at least a High-level Tier 4 Rainbow Beast Summoner. By the looks of it, you just recently leveled up to a High-level Tier 1 Rainbow Beast Summoner thanks to me. Who knew you were such a weakling? I wonder what that idiot First Beast Summoner found in you to choose you as his successor."

When he heard the requirement to create a portal, Can could only pale.

Entering the Rainbow Grade is already quite difficult, but upgrading to higher tiers is more difficult. Only truly exceptional and lucky individuals can upgrade to higher tiers.

Can just leveled up into a High-level Tier 1 Rainbow Beast Summoner after making a contract with a beast god. He was just lucky this time that he was able to make such a break-through in a very short time. Usually, it takes many years for Orange Grade individuals to enter the Rainbow Grade. Those people who are Orange level would rely on their exceptional talents and extreme luck to become a High-level Tier 1 Rainbow individual. In Can's case, it was a miracle he became one immediately.

(A/N: You could refer to Index about levels.)

To upgrade to higher tiers, the requirements are much more difficult. Most of the High-level Tier 1 Rainbow Grade individuals, who are already rare to begin with, would never be able to move up to a higher tier and sometimes would even die trying. For the exceptional ones, usually, it would take decades to upgrade to Tier 2. One could only imagine how rare it is for someone to upgrade to higher tiers. This is one of the reasons why people who are Rainbow Grade are well-respected and sought for.

Thinking about this, if he needs to become a High-level Tier 4 Rainbow Beast Summoner, then it could mean that there was a possibility that he would not be able to return at all! What should he do now?

Sensing the gloom and frustration of his new master, Pond could not help it, but get irritated. He was waiting for Can to ask him for his help, because he knew a way to allow his new master to become a High-level Tier 4 Rainbow Grade Beast Summoner. Who knew that he would just stand there and not move at all!

"Why don't you ask me about a way to solve this problem?" Pond finally lost his patience waiting for Can to ask for help.

Can looked up and faced Pond with a glimpse of hope on his face. "You have a way?"

Smirking, Pond replied, "Of course! I know everything! I'm a beast god!"

With a quick cough, Pond continued, "This dimension contains a lot of treasures of different rarities that would help you upgrade to a Tier 4. Even though a lot of beast summoners have been coming to this dimension to steal treasures, there are still a lot of them that haven't been taken. You still have luck on your side. Based on my assessment, with the help of those treasures left behind by the First Beast Summoner, you should be able to become a Tier 4 Rainbow Grade Beast Summoner within a year."

Can's attitude suddenly changed after hearing the good news. His emotions became mixed, but he was mostly happy and hopeful. Even though it would take a year, it was still better than taking decades or lifetime to achieve Tier 4. Spending a year in the dimension was only a small sacrifice. At this point, he was just truly lucky!

The sudden happy feeling that he felt from the news made him approach Pond and hug him.

"Thank you, Pond! You saved me!" Can said while smiling sincerely as he patted him.

When Pond was hugged and patted by his new owner who was smaller than him, he once again felt warm inside. No one has ever thanked him with such sincerity. It was the first time.

Being able to interact with different individuals before he was imprisoned, Pond could guess what goes in their mind, so he knew that Can was actually quite sincere. There was no hidden malicious meaning behind his action. It made Pond wonder if he should still kill him. Yet, he thought that he still wanted his freedom. He still had to avenge himself from the other beast gods who imprisoned him, although he was still unsure where they all went. He would not be able to accomplish this if someone was controlling him. But on the other hand, being praised and patted by this sincere idiotic weak mortal was not too bad. In the end, Pond decided that he would just kill Can later.

Returning to his arrogant manner, Pond said "Hehe! I'm a beast god, what do you expect? I'm the best!"

"You're really great!" Can continued to pat Pond's head which the beast god did not deny.

After some time, the three left the underground prison. Before finding the rest of the treasures in the dimension, Can asked Pond to help Xu Xian find Bacsojin. Within seconds, they were able to find her location. She was back by the river where Can first met her.

As the three flew towards the river using Pond's gigantic black raven, they saw how the beauty of the area surrounding the river was destroyed. According to Pond, after Bacsojin left this area, different teams of beast summoners plundered and fought over the resources by the river. What was left was only devastation. Xu Xian who witnessed such tragedy of this area that was special to him felt heartbroken. But now that he has returned, he would surely make this area beautiful once again!

After a few moments, the three spotted a lady who was planting beautiful flowers by the river. They immediately knew who it was. The first one to react was Xu Xian. He jumped off from the gigantic black raven and landed right next to the lady.

When the lady looked up, the flowers on her hands fell as tears formed in her eyes.

"Bacsojin, I'm back....I'm finally back," Xu Xian whispered as he cupped his lover. It has been such a long time since he has seen and touched Bacsojin. Aside from small scars and dirt on her face, nothing much has changed. She looked the same. She still has those lovely features. He truly missed her terribly!

"Welcome ba-ack..... Xu Xian..." Bacsojin stuttered as she cried. All those years she waited for him to come back finally paid off. The loneliness that she felt for thousands of years are now gone instantly. Her lover is back. Xu Xian is back finally!

Wiping his lover's tears, Xu Xian hugged Bacsojin tightly. Now, they have connected once again. He swore that he would not leave her alone anymore.

As the two were busy showing affection to one another as they tried to make up for the time that was lost, they did not notice Pond and Can behind them.

"Ahem," Pond coughed in an annoyed manner as he interrupted the two.

Both Xu Xian and Bacsojin suddenly stopped what they were doing as they looked behind them.

Xu Xian scratched his head embarrassingly as he said, "Uh Bacsojin, you must already know Can. He's the one who saved me."

"Kid, you're alive!?" Bacsojin said with a surprised expression. She really thought that Can was dead.

Can happily replied, "Yes! Thank you for your help that day. I'm sorry for the trouble I have caused. I'll make sure to..."

Before Can could even finish his sentence, Bacsojin rushed towards him and hugged him.

"It's great that you're alive! Ahh! I don't know what exactly happened but thank you! Thank you for saving Xu Xian! I'm eternally grateful!"

Can suddenly felt embarrassed, "I-I just got lucky....but you're welcome. You should also thank him. He led us to you."

Can pointed at Pond who was playing with his gigantic black raven pet.

Bacsojin nodded and approached Pond.

"Thank you," Bacsojin said as she smiled sincerely.

Pond, once again, felt warm inside and it made him feel happy and satisfied.

"It-it's nothing. I'm a beast god after all! This is a piece of cake for me!" Pond said as he tried to sound arrogant.

"Eh, a beast god?" Bacsojin asked as he faced Xu Xian and Can.

Grabbing the hands of his lover and kissed them, Xu Xian started explaining the entire situation that happened while they were in the Clouded Mist.

After some time had passed,  Bacsojin took time to process everything that Xu Xian said.

"This is truly a miracle!" Bacsojin exclaimed.

"Indeed," Xu Xian replied.

"Ahh!" Bacsojin suddenly thought of something as she took her precious blue gemstone from one of her pockets. She approached Can and took one of his hand.

"Here Can, take it. With this, it would help you summon a powerful legendary water elemental beast. If you successfully make a contract with it, it can speed up your leveling," Bacsojin explained as she put the blue gemstone on Can's hand.

"I-I can't possibly take something that's really important..."

"Nonsense! My family just stole this from somewhere else. I just know that it can summon a powerful beast, that's all. Just take it," Bacsojin replied with displeasure as she closed his hand that has the blue gemstone.

"O-okay. Thank you, Bacsojin," Can replied as he looked at the blue gemstone.

"Good, you better use it well," Bacsojin said. As soon as she turned back away from Can, sadness on her face became apparent for a second before she returned back to her usual joyful self.

That blue gemstone was indeed important to Bacsojin. It was a family heirloom that was given to her by her mother. Although it holds sentimental value to her, if it is compared to what Can did for her, giving up the blue gemstone was nothing much. In order for Can to accept it without any hesitation, she had to lie about it not being important.

As Bacsojin returned to her lover's side, Pond stood next to Can.

"That blue gemstone was the first treasure that I was going to recommend that you should steal, but I didn't know she'd give it away that easily. Anyway, we should head to another location of the treasure," Pond said casually.

"Pond, be nice," Can said as he faced the beast god.

"Hmph!" Pond expressed dissatisfaction before he went back to his pet.

Can could only shake his head as a response as he put the blue gemstone in his storage ring. 

When he looked at the direction of the happy couple, Can remembered Tin.

He wondered what he was doing right now.

[7 Months Ago]

It was the moment where different teams of Beast Summoners from different universities would return from Beast Gods' Dimension.

Once again, the entrance to the dimension found in the Wat Chaiwatthanaram temple in Thailand was full of different kinds of people who were nervously and excitedly waiting for the participants to return. The families, reporters, teachers, and bystanders were all present. The atmosphere was quite lively and also tense. What kind of treasures and beasts were obtained during this one month trip in the Beast Gods' Dimension? Who survived? Who died? Which team was the winner of the competition? These were some of the questions the people who were present and watching at home would like to know.

Soon different teams started coming out to the entrance of the temple. There were mixed reactions from different teams. Some teams were cheering happily because they were able to tame several powerful beasts and take rare treasures. Some teams were unhappy and depressed for various reasons. Some got a small amount of treasure and beasts. Some did not get anything at all. The saddest was that some of them lost their teammates.

As teams got out of the portal, they were being interviewed by the reporters while their college representatives and families tried to take them away.

"Where's Can and the others? I still don't see them?" Ley said as she stood on her toes to look for his brother.

"Don't be impatient, Ley. Your brother will come out any minute now," Ley's mother replied.

"Yes, my disciple and his teammates will come out in a bit. Don't worry too much," Old Man Khang reassured Ley. The old master invited Can's family in order for them to be able to see Can immediately as soon as he comes out of the portal. The three were currently located at the very front of the entrance and surrounded by the L.B.C University's special security force for protection.

"I wonder what he got from the dimension? I'm really excited to see him! Ahh! It's been more than a month already since the last time I saw him!" Ley said with enthusiasm.

"Me too! Our Can must have gotten something amazing. A legendary beast or a rare treasure perhaps. In any case, as long as he is safe and sound, I'm still happy if he didn't get anything," Ley's mom happily said while anticipating excitedly for her son to come back.

Ley nodded happily.

As more teams came out as more time passed by, there was still no sign of team Thailand. It was then that Can's family and Old Man Khang started to feel odd. Their excitement was slowly replaced with worry.

Every time they would see a team come out of the portal, they would pray that it would be Can's team. Yet, every time this happens, they would just be met with disappointment and anxiousness.

"What's taking them so long?" Ley asked. There was an obvious worry in her tone.

"They probably got delayed. Yeah, that must be it. They were probably just delayed," Ley's mom replied. Still, she could not hide the worry from her face.

"There's no way that our Can would not come back...He will come back to us....," Ley's mom whispered to herself as he held her hands tightly. She suddenly thought of her dead husband. His death devastated her. She somehow managed to move on, but if her son gets taken away, she does not know what she will do. She cannot handle it if her son would be taken away from her too. It would be too painful for her to handle. 

After long hours of waiting, the members of team Thailand finally came back. Yet, when they came out, Can was not there. Observing the team, she noticed their depressed and defeated look. What happened? What happened to her son?

"Where's my son? Where's Can? Ae, Where's my son?" Ley's mother suddenly shouted. She had a bad feeling. She was now desperate to know where her son was. Unfortunately, she did not get an answer from them. They all lowered their heads.

It was then she realized that the thing she feared the most became the truth.

"I'm sorry....," Ae said to Mrs. Rathavit as his already swollen eyes started forming tears once again. The other members of the team also started crying.

After hearing Ae's reply, Ley's mother suddenly felt weak. It became too much for her that she passed out.

"Mom! Mom!" Ley started shouting and crying as she tried to wake up her mother. She tried to believe that this was only a nightmare. Yet, as her tears fell which left a warm trail on her face, the sorrow that she was feeling was too painful to be considered fake. Can's gone. Her older brother was gone.

When the reporters saw that team Thailand was incomplete, they immediately tried to surround the entire team to ask what happened to Can. Old Man Khang immediately ordered the special security force to clear a path for Can's family and team Thailand in order to get to the university's hospital.

Meanwhile, back in an unknown new location, Tin has been watching the entire event since the beginning. At first, he was excited just like Can's family as he anticipated for Can to come out from the portal. But the moment he saw that team Thailand came out without Can, he knew that something bad had happened.

At that moment, the only source of light and warmth in his lonely dark cold life vanished.

Slowly sitting down in his chair, he looked at the television lifelessly.

Why is this happening to him? What did he owe the world to receive such punishment? Why did it have to be Can? What did he do?

As he started questioning himself, the tears on his eyes started to form. His emotions then blew up. At first, there was sadness but eventually it was replaced with anger.

With the sudden surge of anger, Tin started breaking the expensive things in his new room.

"Who did it!? Someone must have purposely got rid of him! Why was it only Can who was gone? There must be someone who did it! I'll kill that person! Whoever did it, I will surely kill that person! That person must pay! Even if it's a group of people, I'll kill them!" Tin shouted as he broke a sturdy table in half causing his hand to break also. Still, it did not stop him to destroy other things. The physical pain that he was feeling was nothing compared to the emotional pain that he was feeling. He vowed to destroy anyone who dared do this to his Can. No matter what it takes, he will kill those who were connected to Can's disappearance.

When Tin's father heard the commotion in Tin's room, he thought that someone broke in to assassinate them. Not too long ago, assassins were sent to their previous location to kill them. Thankfully, they were able to escape and find another hidden location.

Opening the door to Tin's room, he did not feel any presence of anyone aside Tin. Then what was happening?

Observing his son's violent action, he then realized what had happened. Quickly going to his son's side, he grabbed one of his son's hands.

"Son, breaking things won't solve your problems," Tin's father tried to calm him down.

"I SWEAR I'D KILL THEM!" Tin shouted as he struggled from his father's grasp.

As he tried to calm his son down, the more Tin became violent as if he turned crazy. Without any choice, he made his son fall asleep with a spell. He laid him on his bed carefully as he sighed.

"Father, what should I do?" Tin's father asked as he looked at the necklace he was wearing.

"I'm not quite sure too, my son. I just hope he won't turn like you just like before."

"I hope so too."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> =========
> 
> Hello everyone, here's another update. Yeah, it's heartbreaking..... We'll see what happens next! See you later. Thank you for reading and supporting this fanfic!


	55. Chapter 50 - The Future Grandmaster of Demonic Elementalists

When Tin woke up from his sleep, the first thing he remembered was Can.

Instantly, his lips trembled as his already red eyes became watery once again. Every time he breathes, it becomes painful. It just hurts.

He wanted to believe that everything was just a nightmare, yet he knew the truth. He knew that Can would not be with him anymore.

When he thought that his life was back on the right track, fate decided to play a painful trick on him.

Aside from this, he hated the fact that he was powerless. He was angry at himself for being one.

Looking at his bandaged wrapped hands that were still painful to move, he felt weak and useless.

Tin was once again shrouded with darkness. It was a type of darkness where it seemed that there was no way out. He felt falling endlessly in a hole where no one could save him.

"You promised that you'd return.... you lied to me....." Tin whispered to himself.

"You lied to me...." Tin continued as there was a hint of bitterness and sadness in his tone.

He closed his eyes, but his tears continued to flow. The exhaustion that he felt physically and emotionally caused him to fall asleep.

The moment he woke up, it was already night. It was dark inside his room, but the night sky that was filled with stars and full moon helped illuminate it through his room's window.

Tin was calmer now compared to earlier. Still, he was heartbroken. His eyes were filled with emptiness.

The silence in his room was suddenly disturbed when two unknown individuals appeared outside his windows. Tin sensed the two, but he chose not to do anything. There was no reason to do so. He thought that these two could just kill him on the spot.

Not seeing any movements from the person inside the room, the two mysterious people who were wearing straw hats and a combination of white and black colored monk robes pushed the windows open and entered inside.

(A/N: What I imagine them wearing. Photo is not mine.)

Walking to the front of Tin's bed, they bowed their heads as they kneeled with respect.

"You're not here to kill me?" Tin asked with indifference while still lying down in his bed.

The two mysterious people looked at one another then looked down on the floor again.

"No. Master Tin, I'm Type and this is my sister Cha Aim. Our master sent us to relay a message to you," Type said.

(A/N: Type. You guys know him.)

(A/N: Cha Aim.)

"What is it?" Tin asked.

"My master would like to assist you," Type continued.

Tin looked outside the windows to gaze at the moon.

"Can your master return a dead person back? If not, then I don't need your master's assistance. Besides I'm powerless," Tin replied as he sighed.

Type and Cha Aim looked at one another. They felt troubled. If they could not convince Tin to come with them, their master would get angry. Coming to an agreement, the two of them nodded at one another.

"There's a possibility, master Tin," Cha Aim said without hesitation.

As if given a sudden glimpse of light in a dark tunnel, Tin got up of his bed.

"Tell me more," Tin said unhurriedly.

Type and his sister stood up and started explaining their objective. After some time, Tin seemed to slightly regain his hope.

Type and his sister were both from the remnants of Demonic Elementalists. According to their old master who believed in the ancient prophecy of the demonic elementalists, a descendant of the First Pure Blood Demonic Elementalist would come and change the fate of the almost extinct and struggling  clan of Demonic Elementalists.

According to the prophecy, there were two criteria to find the real descendant of the most powerful Blood Demonic Elementalist in history. First, that descendant will come from a prominent family of Righteous Elementalists. Second, that person would also lose his spiritual core.

Type's old master has been sending people to observe the different prominent families of Righteous Elementalists to find the descendant. When she learned the news about Tin and his spiritual core being destroyed, she was convinced that it was Tin who is the descendant. She immediately sent her disciples to try to convince Tin to come and further discuss their plans right after.

Tin was still in doubt, but since he had nothing to lose, he agreed immediately. Whether the prophecy was a lie or not, these people say that they know a way to help him get Can back. He  would just go along with them.

Without losing any time, the three traveled back to a hidden old temple that was surrounded by small huts that were located at the foot of the mountain. At first glance, Tin thought that the place that they were going to was an underground area because there were only trees to where they were landing. Yet, as they descended slowly, Type and Cha Aim threw two talismans which revealed a barrier. That barrier then created two small holes where people could fit in. As they entered the small holes, an old temple was revealed. Tin realized that the barrier hid the huge old temple.

Observing the huge temple, there were only standing lit torches that surrounded it. There was no sign of technology. The structure of the temple was simple but magnificent. Of course Tin was not there for sightseeing, so he ignored the scenery completely as he focused on his objective.

As they landed in front of the entrance of the temple, the three walked inside where the old master was waiting for them.

"Master Ya Janya, we're back with Master Tin," Type said as he bowed towards his old female master.

(A/N: This is the old master. She is the English teacher in the LBC series.)

"Welcome, master Tin. I hope you didn't have difficulties on your way here?" the old master, who was wearing similar clothes as her disciples, said with a graceful manner.

"I was told that this old master can assist me to return what I've lost and have my revenge?" Tin asked with a dignified tone.

The old master Ya Janya nodded with a smile. "Indeed."

Since it was going to be a long explanation, the old master gestured Tin to come with her for some tea in the temple's simple kitchen. Tin and the disciples quickly followed her.

Bringing a gas lamp on a wooden table, old master Ya Janya started to tell Tin  about the prophecy and the things that he must accomplish while she poured him green tea on his cup.

In summary, Tin must first regain his spiritual core. In order for him to regain it, he must absorb the left-over spiritual energy and core of the corpses of his ancestors that were in his ancestor's tomb. Absorbing corpses' spiritual energy and taking their spiritual cores were forbidden because of the risks involved.

When one dies, usually his or her spiritual core would still be intact. The stronger the person is, the higher the chances that the spiritual core would be intact when that person dies. The problem is that the moment the person dies, his or her spiritual core would slowly become impure and turn corrupted. If Tin decides to absorb the spiritual energy and core of his powerful dead ancestors, there is a chance that he could be also corrupted which could kill him in the process if he could not control it. On the other hand, if he succeeds, he would become a pure Demonic Elementalist. As a pure Demonic Elementalist, he would solely rely on the impure spiritual energy and practice demonic arts.

One must know that there is a huge difference of power between a pure Demonic Elementalist and a normal one. A pure Demonic Elementalist possess a corrupted spiritual core. A normal Demonic Elementalist has a non-corrupted spiritual core. The more corrupted the spiritual core, the stronger the power to wield demonic magic.

Naturally, everyone is born with non-corrupted spiritual core. Those who possess a corrupted spiritual core are mostly non-existent because of how rare they are. Usually, one becomes a demonic elementalist by relying on impure spiritual energy. 

Because non-corrupted spiritual core naturally accommodates pure spiritual energy, if one decides to absorb impure spiritual energy instead, there would be instability. This instability could cause serious health problems, which is why Demonic Elementalists have shorter lives compared to Righteous Elementalists.

The case is different with someone who has a corrupted core to begin with. If a person has a corrupted core and absorbs impure spiritual energy, there would be no problem at all. Because there is stability, the health of the person would not deteriorate and would even strengthen that person's health and magic power. This explains why pure Demonic Elementalist have more powerful magic than normal ones.

Since Tin has no spiritual core at the moment, if he could absorb the impure spiritual cores and energies of his ancestors successfully, he could be granted with a corrupted spiritual core. With this, he would become a pure Demonic Elementalist.

Second, after he becomes a Demonic Elementalist, he must become High-Level Rainbow Grade Tier 4 Demonic Elementalist if he wants to summon the spirit of the dead. This method could then allow Tin to summon Can's spirit and communicate with him.

"You seemed to be eager to assist me. Are you quite confident that I'm the chosen one in your ancient prophecy?" Tin asked calmly.

Old master Ya Janya smiled. "I'm confident that you're the chosen one to represent the Demonic Elementalist clan, Master Tin."

"What is it that you want in return?" Tin sipped the hot green tea from the cup as he stared at the old master.

"It's quite simple. Whatever you do after you become a Demonic Elementalist will help us out. It's part of the ancient prophecy," the old master explained.

Tin nodded. Still, he noticed that the old master would like to say something else.

"Go on, tell me," Tin said.

The old master was surprised slightly, but she continued to smile. "Master Tin is truly perceptive."

She poured Tin more green tea after seeing his cup was empty. "I must trouble you with this old woman's request. I have reached my limit and soon I will die and join our ancestors."

Both Type and Cha Aim were stunned. They did not know that their master's health has gotten worse.

"Master, I thought you're getting better? Have you been taking your medicine?" Cha Aim asked worriedly.

The old master waved her hand while she still continued to smile. "Medicine or any form of healing doesn't work for me anymore."

"There must be another way, there must...." Before Type could even finish his explanation, his master stopped him.

"Enough, Type," the old master said to her disciple.

Type wanted to say more, but he was stopped by Cha Aim as she grabbed his hand while shaking her head.

" Master Tin, due to my worsening health, I could no longer fulfill my duty as the leader of our Demonic Elementalist clan. I'm asking master Tin to become our next leader. I know that it might be a huge responsibility but..."

"I accept," Tin answered as he sipped his tea without hesitation.

"Thank you, Master Tin." The old master bowed and continued to pour Tin more green tea.

With the person from the ancient prophecy leading them, the old master was relieved. Her clan would surely once again rise. There was no doubt in her mind at all.

Although it was like this, the two disciples were hesitant. How could their master just instantly rely on Tin and give him such heavy responsibility already? They just met him tonight! The two siblings would like to voice out their opinions, but they did not want to offend both Tin and their master.

On the other hand, Tin accepted the old master's request not because he pitied the old woman. He simply wanted more power and people to control. He does not exactly care about the prophecy or the people in the clan. All he wanted was the power to fulfill his plans of revenge and getting Can back by all means. The Demonic Elementalist clan would help him fulfill that.

After their discussion, Tin asked Type and Cha Aim to transfer him back to his ancestor's dimension. Before he left, the old master handed Tin a dark wooden bottle with mysterious symbols on it. According to her, the bottle is an ancient legendary treasure that could contain spiritual core and energy. It has infinite capacity so if Tin decides to take the spiritual cores and energies of his entire dead powerful ancestors, there would be no problem. The only problem was once again absorbing the corrupted spiritual cores and energies of the dead.

Thanking the old master, Tin and the two siblings left the mountain. When they arrived at their destination, they immediately entered the secret underground cave nearby Tin's mansion. Spending hours of traveling inside the cave, they finally found the portal to Tin's ancestor's dimension. The three entered the portal and were immediately transferred to the dimension.

(A/N: Refer to Ch. 32 about the Tin's ancestor's dimension.)

Sensing that a Phiravich family member came, Tin was greeted by Beelzebub, the Dark Guardian. By the looks on Beelzebub's smile, he seemed to be expecting them.

"It's been a while, Tin."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ==================
> 
> AHH 50 chapters! I can't believe that I wrote that much already. To be honest I only expected this fanfiction to have 30 chapters. 
> 
> Anyways, I would like to take this moment to thank everyone who kept reading and supporting this fanfiction up to this point. I will continue to work hard!
> 
> Alright, see you later for now!


	56. Chapter 51 - Who Did It?

[Present time - 1 year and 7 months after Tin entered his ancestors' dimension]

The world was entering a chaotic phase. The cult, the Worshippers of the New World, had gained so much power and expanded in such a short time that it stood at the same level as B.S.G and E.A. Such unexpected growth of the power of such cult had caused E.A and B.S.G to become worried. The two groups sent elite operatives to investigate who was behind the cult and the true purpose of its existence, but they all failed. The cult was too secretive.

As the two groups cooperated to prevent the continuous rise of the cult, their plans to do so would always fail. The cultists were always a step ahead of them. Somehow the cultists would be able to counter their plans easily.

The more that E.A and B.S.G provoked these cultists, the more that the cult gained followers. It got to a point where the allies of both E.A and B.S.G also started joining this cult, which further weakened both groups. Thankfully, the battle between the Worshippers of the New World and the two groups did not escalate to an all-out war. It was mostly provocation and small fights between them.

As time passed by, after a series of failed attempts to subdue the cultists, both E.A and B.S.G started turning on each other. The two groups believed that there were spies amongst them. Due to accusing and blaming of one another, the once strong bond between E.A and B.S.G weakened significantly. In the end, their cooperation stopped and they became hostile to one another.

Now, the old hatred that began from the ancient times has once again appeared between E.A and B.S.G. With the addition of the growing power of the Worshippers of the New World, the tension could only continue to intensify. Only time could tell when a large scale confrontation between the three major factions would erupt and plunge the world into chaos.

"Father, the auction is about to begin! If we don't hurry up, we might miss the opportunity to grab wonderful rare treasures!" Trump sounded irritated while talking to his father on the phone.

Today is the launch of the most important and exclusive auctioning event of the year. In this event, all of the rarest items were gathered in one place to be auctioned. Because the items presented in the event have the rarities starting from Rare up to Mythic, only those with power and money could attend. These kinds of people, who could only come from the top elite part of society, were given a special invitation to get in.

"I can't go. I have an important meeting to attend. I'll let you handle it," Trump's father said in a serious manner as he ended the phone call in a hurry.

"You should've said that sooner you old fart!" Trump screamed at his phone.

Trump was in his luxurious room looking at the reflection of himself in the huge mirror to admire himself.

Adjusting his tie, he said arrogantly, "I look so handsome in this black suit, hehe. The ladies would surely fall in love with me when they see me."

While he was busy admiring himself in the mirror, he did not notice three people that showed up in his room. The leader of the group, who was wearing a beautiful and flashy red suit, was sitting down in one of the chairs while the other two was standing behind him.

When Trump turned his head, he saw the three figures. All of a sudden he felt a chill in his body. For the elite guards that his father recruited and for him not to detect their presence could only mean one thing. Their power was above Rainbow Grade Tier 1.

(A/N: Refer to Index about Grade and Levels.)

The first thing that he looked at was the two people who were wearing straw hats and a combination of white and black colored monk robes. The two were looking at him with disgust. Who were these people?

As Trump moved his gaze at the person in the middle who was sitting down, his heart suddenly stopped beating for a second. His body involuntarily shook as sweat started to form on his forehead.

"Wh-what is he doing here?" Trump said to himself.

The guy in the middle seemed not to pay attention to Trump as he was staring at the window outside looking at what he considered an ugly scenery of the place. Tapping his index finger on the arm of the chair, he heaved a small sigh. This place is disgusting.

"T-Tin, why are you here? This is my family's private area. Y-you can't be here. Also, you're a fugitive! Don't make me call the authorities on you! Leave while you still can," Trump attempted to sound confident and strong as he threatened Tin.

Immediately, Trump took his phone out of his pocket as he approached the door for exit.

Tin faced Trump and waved his hand. In an instant, the phone flew away from Trump's hand.

"Eek!" Trump got scared as he tried to open the door. How come Tin can still wield magic? Did he not lose his spiritual core already?

Trump started panicking as he started screaming for help. He tried to open the door, but he could not do it.

"Someone help me! Tin's here! SOMEONE HELP ME!" Trump was slamming the door while screaming for help. Someone should be able to help him. There are a total of one hundred elite security personnel that his father recruited. As long as he could alert them, he should be able to get some help. Yet, after some time, no one came for him. What did this mean?

Suddenly, a scary realization hit Trump.

"Th-there's no way that he killed all of them in such a short time?" Trump told himself as his eyes suddenly widened from this thought while facing the door. Slowly, his legs weakened and he collapsed. His father's top elite security forces of the mansion should at least be High-Level Purple Grade rank. The leader of the security forces was a Rainbow Grade Tier 1 Beast Summoner. There was no way that Tin and the other two killed all of them? He did not hear any noise from some kind of battle outside to begin with!

Even if Tin and the other two who were with him were above Rainbow Grade Tier 1, it was impossible to kill all of the security forces in such a short time and without making any noise. What's happening?

"Are you done?" Tin asked calmly and indifferently while looking at his black leather shoes that had a stain of blood and mud on it.

Trump faced Tin. He was not quite sure what he did to him, but he has to survive. "Wh-what do you want? If you want money, I have a lot. Name your price, just please don't kill me!"

"I don't need your money and I'm not going to kill you," Tin replied while still looking at his dirty shoes.

"My shoes are dirty, clean them for me."

Type and Cha Aim who were beside Tin were about to move and clean Tin's shoes when they were stopped by him when he slightly raised his hand.

"You," Tin pointed at Trump.

"...clean them for me."

Trump did not hesitate as he approached Tin. He shakily took a handkerchief from his pocket, but he was suddenly stopped by Tin.

"Clean my shoes with your tongue," Tin instructed. He looked at Trump as if he was some sort of insect.

"Wi-with my tongue, bu-but..." Tin's gaze turned cold before Trump could continue to complain.

Trump felt more scared than before after seeing Tin's expression that could kill. Other than fear, Trump felt humiliated. What did he do exactly to deserve this?

Even if Trump was hesitant and was full of pride, when it comes to his life, he would sacrifice anything to survive. So slowly, he leaned down to lick Tin's dirty shoes that smelled like a mixture of blood and dirt. It made him almost vomit because of how the smell of blood became stronger as he leaned closer to one of his shoes.

As he slowly revealed his tongue to lick Tin's shoes, Tin's expression was mixed with further disgust and coldness.

When Trump's tongue was about to touch his dirty shoes, Tin immediately stomped on Trump's head with force.

"Ack!" Trump felt pain and dizziness when his head hit the floor. Within a second, blood from his head flowed on the floor.

With his right foot on Trump's head, Tin tried to remove the dirt and blood on his right shoe by continuous rubbing and stumping on Trump's head.

"Pl-please have mercy on me! Please don't kill me," Trump cried. A mixture of blood, tears, and mud formed on the floor where Trump was lying down.

"There's still dirt on my shoe," Tin said as he continued his cruel act. Type and Cha Aim just looked away. They were used to their new leader's cruelty on his enemies.

Trump continued to plead to Tin to stop, but every time he would talk, the harder the kicks on the face he got, so he stopped talking.

After some time, Tin stopped kicking Trump even though he was still unsatisfied.

When he stopped, Trump was in an unpleasant state. His entire head was covered in blood. His face was mostly destroyed that his family would probably not be able to recognize him when they see him. He was in so much pain that he felt, that he would rather experience death than experience this continuous torture.

Breathing heavily through his mouth irregularly when his nose was clogged with blood, he tried to get up. Unfortunately, his body could not move. Whether it was due to severe injury or fear, his body refused to obey him.

"I want you to tell me what happened to Can back in the Beast Gods' Dimension, if you still want to live," Tin asked as he sat down in the chair, still with a frosty expression on his face.

When Trump heard the name Can, the anger that was already buried in his heart emerged once again. That damn Can! He is already dead, yet he still makes trouble for me! Why was it him that was suffering!?

Yet, no matter how bitter or angry Trump felt, it was useless. There was no way he could resist or struggle against Tin. It was either his life or death.

Slowly while struggling to breathe and to explain properly, Trump told what exactly happened back in the dimension. He told Tin that it was Ae who killed Can. He also mentioned how Ae explained that he was manipulated back then. After the explanation, there was silence. Not only did Trump's heart suddenly beat faster and became more fearful, but Type and Cha Aim also felt the same. The two siblings knew how important this 'Can' was to Tin. Every time Can's name was mentioned, Tin's temper would become terrible. It has gotten worse as time passed by.

The reason for his worsening temper was due to his absorption of corrupted spiritual cores and impure spiritual energy from his powerful dead ancestors in such a short time. Because of his desire to become powerful, he was unable to completely control the corruption of the spiritual cores that he absorbed to create a new corrupted spiritual core. His new corrupted core was leaking impure spiritual energy inside his body. This leak could have a bad effect on Tin's body and mind in the future if he does not fix it as soon as possible. But since Tin was too busy becoming powerful and planning his revenge, this problem with his core would only worsen.

Still sitting, Tin broke the arms of the chair when he heard Ae was the culprit. He felt angry but at the same time, he felt satisfied.

"So it's him," Tin whispered as he smirked. If the people in the room could see Tin's face, they would surely be unable to move due to his terrifying expression. Of course, no one in the room would dare oppose Tin. If they did, they might as well commit suicide.

Finally, the silence in the room was broken.

"Where's Ae?" Tin asked as he went back to his calm expression. There was odd happiness that can be sensed in his voice.

Cha Aim wanted to answer, but she felt afraid. She looked at his brother for help. Her brother simply nodded nervously.

"He should be at the auction house, grandmaster Tin," Type said as his mouth trembled.

"Well, let's meet him there," Tin said as he stood up.

"Grandmaster, we need a special invitation to get inside the auction house," Type replied.

Tin faced Type and said, "I'm aware. Luckily, this trash will be willing to grant us an invitation."

Type understood what his master meant, so he quickly searched Trump's pockets for the special invitation card. When he found it, he handed it to his master.

Before they left, Tin looked at his dirty shoes.

"I need a new pair of black leather shoes before we get there."

His two subordinates quickly nodded.

Tin then faced Trump once again and put a spell on him.

_"Hellfire Curse"_

The two siblings looked at one another as they became stunned. The Hellfire Curse was a forbidden spell in the demonic elementalist clan. This powerful Epic rarity spell was meant to use to torture people. It was a spell that would put a targeted person in a coma. Of course, this was not the only reason that it was forbidden.

After a person enters a coma, he or she would feel being burned alive repeatedly and endlessly. This person in a coma would not be able to struggle or shout for help. In addition, that individual could not even end his or her life even if that individual wanted to, because there was no way to move at all. The physical body would not be exactly harmed. It was the mental state that was being harmed. The spell creates a simulation that makes the feeling of being burned alive real. Such spell could only be broken by the person who chanted it. Usually, when the spell was finally broken, the victim would lose his or her sanity. If that individual was lucky enough to survive, then that individual would unfortunately become a slave of the person who chanted the spell. Such cruelty was the reason why this spell was forbidden.

"I'm not going to let you die since it would be a waste if you did," Tin said as he waved his hand to perform teleportation.

Soon the three vanished in an instant, leaving the massacred bloodied victims on the floor inside and outside the mansion.

Without any form of physical struggle, Trump silently wished he could die already. 

This kind cruelty that Tin imposed on Trump and his victims was his retribution and a warning to all of his enemies: no one can escape.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> =======
> 
> Hello, I'm already working on the next chapter. I'll publish it tomorrow. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this gory chapter!


	57. Chapter 52 - Auction House

Somewhere in front of an abandoned building that was far from the nearest civilization, a small black hole was created. As it expanded, its color changed from light red to a darker red. The size of this red hole was as big as an average door of a house when it finally stopped expanding.

From that red hole, two people came out.

"Good job, Can. You finally created a portal from the Beast Gods' Dimension to the human world," Pond said with satisfaction as he nodded.

"Ahh, Thanks Pond. It took me a while to create one. I would've not done it without your guidance," Can said as he breathed heavily.

After reaching Rainbow Grade Tier 4 not too long ago, Can immediately attempted to create a portal. Initially, he failed multiple times. Thankfully, Pond guided him properly and eventually he was able to create a portal.

"Such a small matter. It's nothing," Pond said arrogantly as he looked away, but deep inside, he was happy and satisfied. Seeing Can happy made Pond smile.

Throughout the time he spent with his master, Pond initially made plans to kill him. In the end, he failed, so he decided to just give up. It was not because his master treated him really well and cooked delicious food for him that he decided to give up. It was not the reason at all. Definitely not the delicious food!

Can could see through Pond's thoughts and feelings, so he himself was happy and proud that he managed to change Pond's personality in such a short time. He wished Pond would continue to behave this way.

Looking back at the portal, Can waited for Xu Xian and Bacsojin to come out. When he was trying to create a portal, the couple was always there with him to support him. Earlier the couple mentioned about traveling Xu Xian's hometown to visit his family. Although it has been a very long time, Xu Xian would like to know what happened to his family and at the same time visit their graves to pay respect. In addition, he would like to introduce Bacsojin to his ancestors. After that, the couple might explore the human world and visit wonderful places and see the changes that happened. They wanted to experience new things together.

"Why haven't they come out?" Can asked Pond.

Pond only shrugged.

When Can approached the red portal, his body suddenly began to hurt. Within a second, he coughed a mouthful of blood.

"Can!" Pond quickly went to his master's side and checked his vitals. He quickly looked at the red portal to confirm his suspicion. Based on his observation, the situation was bad.

Creating and maintaining a portal required a tremendous amount of spiritual energy. Since Can attempted to create a portal multiple times within a day, his spiritual energy was already depleted. When he was able to successfully create a portal, Can seemed to pushed himself at maintaining the portal even though he knew that he did not have enough spiritual energy. This created instability with the portal and caused problems with the owner.

Can was truly a stubborn person! He was so persistent of going home that he did not consider his safety! What happens if he dies!? If anything happens to master then who would feed Pond and pat his head?

While transferring his master some pure spiritual energy, the portal began to fade. Aside from this, Can's left hand started to partially fade.

When Can's vitals became normal after Pond transferred some of his spiritual energy to him, Can finally calmed down.

Can patted Pond's head. "Thanks, Pond."

"You were too reckless, Can," Pond sighed as he supported his master to stand up properly.

Can looked at the position where he created the portal as he wiped the blood from his mouth. "What happened to the portal?"

"You depleted your spiritual energy, so you couldn't maintain the portal. Worry about yourself for now. Look at your left hand." Pond pointed at Can's fading left hand while shaking his head.

The moment Can saw his fading left hand, his heart momentarily stopped beating, "Wh-what happened to my left hand?"

"Because the portal suddenly became unstable, part of your hand was transferred somewhere in the Beast Gods' Dimension. If we don't create a stable portal as soon as possible, parts of your body will start to fade as well."

Can faced Pond in horror and panicked. "What should we do? How can we fix this?"

"Calm down. It's quite simple. We just need the <Emperium>," Pond answered.

"The <Emperium>? What's that?" Can asked as his eyes squinted in curiosity.

"It's a magical item that could help you to easily create a more stable portal while using little spiritual energy. The next time you create a portal with the assistance of the <Emperium>, your left hand will come back automatically," Pond explained.

(A/N: Emperium from Ragnarok Online.)

"Where can we find this <Emperium>?" Can continued.

"I'm on it. Surely, this world of yours possess such item," Pond smirked.

Without wasting any time, Pond released thousands of black ravens in the sky from his hands. The sky immediately turned black as if a storm was brewing, then in a moment all of the black ravens disappeared.

Voices of different people suddenly entered Pond's consciousness. Closing his eyes, he processed and organized those voices and focused on those that were relevant to what he was looking for.

The moment he opened his eyes, a huge smile on his face was shown.

"We're in luck. There's a huge auction today and the <Emperium> is one of the items being auctioned," Pond happily reported as he faced Can.

"An auction? But I don't have money," Can replied with instant sadness as he felt powerless.  He just remembered how poor he was. Why was he so poor!?

Pond, who has absorbed the culture and the structure of this world in an instant, understood what Can was talking about.

 

"Although, we could steal the item, it would be too problematic and it would attract too much attention. It won't be good in the long-run," Pond contemplated as scratched his chin.

According to the information he gathered from his black ravens right now, the auction event today was huge and only the powerful elite families in the society around the world were only allowed to participate. The security would be tight and the organizers of this auction event were not the type of people who should be offended easily due to their strength and abilities. Thankfully, he found out that for the <Emperium>, the person who was auctioning it did not want money. Instead, they were asking for an item or items that have the same value as the <Emperium>. Of course, one must know that the <Emperium> is a Legendary grade magic item, so item or items that have the same grade could be exchanged. Since Can and the others gathered all the treasures in the Beast Gods' Dimension, they naturally do not lack Legendary treasures. He knew the person who auctioned the <Emperium> and Pond was quite sure that  he would not be able to resist what they would offer in exchange.

After explaining the information that he has gathered and their plan during the auction, Can understood and agreed with Pond.

Extending his hand, a special invitation card showed up out of nowhere in Pond's hand. It was definitely stolen.

"We should disguise ourselves, so we don't attract unnecessary attention and protect our identities."

Can nodded. Quickly, Pond made a sign with his hand and both of their appearances changed. Pond's appearance changed into an old man who has a white hair and wrinkled face. Meanwhile, Can was transformed into a six-year-old boy young master. His height only reached Pond's waist. In addition to the changes to their appearance, they also covered themselves with a mask and a black cloak.

"Pond, are you sure these won't attract attention?" Can asked with a voice of a young boy.

Pond nodded as he massaged his white beard. Summoning a huge black raven, Pond also transformed his pet bird that is considered a Mythical grade beast into an Epic grade Gryphon. When his pet bird looked at its appearance, it became instantly irritated.

"I know that you hate your appearance, but this is just temporary," Pond tried to calm his pet bird that was full of pride.

Pet bird, "Hmph!"

After the bird calmed down, the two hopped on its back and flew to their destination. Less than fifteen minutes has passed and they managed to find the auction house.

As expected, the auction house was quite huge and truly fancy looking. Surrounded by a lot of securities and different people from elite families, the event was truly worthy to be called the auction of the century. Knowing about the fantastic event, people from different backgrounds and the reporters surrounded the entrance of the stadium.

When people from the elite family would come, they would be surrounded by their own security guards to prevent the reporters and unknown people to approach them. Most of the invited guests would usually have a cover in their face or a complete disguise to protect themselves from being discovered by potential enemies and from being tracked down. In the past auction events, when a person would obtain a treasure, there would always be someone who would try to steal that person's treasure. It got to a point that murders would occur after the auction event.  So to minimize the possibility of being tracked down and potential murders, people who would attend have decided to wear disguises. Of course, there were those people who did not wear disguises, because they think no one would dare offend them.

After sending his pet away, both Pond and Can went straight to the entrance. Since they were in disguise, no one from the media bothered asking the two of them since they knew that the people in disguise would not reveal anything. They were usually protective of their identities. Besides someone was already making a commotion at the huge entrance.

"Do you not know me!? I'm the young master of the Great Shaman Clan!" a furious young man screamed at one of the guards of the entrance.

"I'm telling you. No invitation, no entry!" the guard persisted with an authoritative voice.

"You low-life bastard! I told you, my invitation was stolen!" The young man whose face was already red due to fury continued to argue with the guard.

"You think you're the first one to attempt to do this kind of deception? Besides most of the people here are wearing disguise, how would I know that you're the person you claimed to be?" the guard snorted.

Hearing this kind of disrespect from a mere guard, the furious young man wanted to fight him but his attendant stopped him.

"Even if you're the young master, the invitation card is your responsibility to protect. For you to lose such an important item, what does that tell you?" the guard asked with a sarcastic tone.

"YOU DARE TO MOCK ME!?" the young master pushed his attendant to the side and started fighting the guard in front of him. With such commotion, the atmosphere became tense and lively at the same time. The reporters immediately started recording while the people started betting who would win from the fight.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the entrance, both Pond and Can were able to enter with ease from the stolen invitation card.

Inside the stadium, the seats were already almost taken. Everyone was chatting to talk about the kind of treasures that were going to be auctioned.

In the middle, there was a simple stage made of stone. There were huge screens attached to the ceiling that would allow these people to see the items much closer. Even though the stadium was much simpler, the participants did not care. Their goal here was to get treasures!

Finding the seats according to the invitation card, the two waited for the event to begin. Looking at his left arm, Can noticed that it also started to fade. Sighing, he distracted himself by looking around. He noticed that there were servers who were handing out fancy-free snacks.

Since Can and Pond have not eaten food since yesterday, Can decided to call one of the servers to get free food.

Instantly, both Can and Pond's eyes glimmered in delight when a tray of snacks headed their way.

"What would you like to have, dear honored guests?" the polite young lady who was wearing a formal waitress attire asked.

When she was about to explain what was inside each of the snacks, the two people in front of her grabbed all the snacks from the tray.

Server, "...."

"Thank you, you may go," Pond said as he waved his hand and instantly ate one of the snacks he grabbed.

The waitress bowed her head and went away.

Can also started munching snacks as he said, "We shourd gwab sowm mow fow Xu Xian and Bacsowjin. These fancy snacks are sow goowd!" ("We should grab some more for Xu Xian and Bacsojin. These fancy snacks are so good!")

Pond nodded as he waved one of the servers to come to them. Suddenly, Pond realized something.

"We should save some for the future, in case we get hungry," Pond said to Can.

Can immediately nodded. Back in the Beast Gods' Dimension, he got worried when the food in his storage ring was almost finished. Due to that, he promised himself, he would restock food in his storage ring as much as possible in case he gets trapped for a long time again somewhere just like before.

One by one, both Pond and Can asked the servers with trays full of snacks to come to them. As soon as the servers would come to them, the two would take all the snacks from the trays.

Servers, "...."

"Did you notice those two?" a random guy who was not too far away from both Pond and Can asked.

"Yeah, I noticed. Aren't all the people here from elite families? Why do they act like their parents don't feed them? Is this their first time eating such kind of food? A bunch of classless gluttons," the random guy's friend asked.

Hearing the two talk, the person in front of them who was wearing a red suit and a black mask curiously looked at the direction of these "classless gluttons."

He noticed how these two were just shamelessly grabbing the snacks from the trays of the servers.

"Grandmaster Tin, the auction is about to start," Type who was sitting next to Tin whispered.

Tin nodded as he turned his attention back to the stage.

Earlier he found out that the reason why Ae was here was to get a certain item that would allow him to create a portal back to the Beast Gods' Dimension. He wanted to search for Can to see if he was still alive. If not, he would want to find his body and retrieve it back to the human world.

When team Thailand returned, the real reason for Can's disappearance was concealed. During the funeral last year, both Ae and Tin did not attend at all. According to a report Tin just received, Ae refused to believe that he has killed Can, so he promised that he would return to the Beast Gods' Dimension to get him back. In Tin's case, he did not attend the funeral because aside from being a fugitive, he thought it was unnecessary. He believed that he would get Can sooner.

Now that he found out Ae's plan, why would Tin let him do what he wanted? Ae did not have the right to get Can back. It was not his responsibility to return Can, because he was incapable. The only responsibility that Ae has was to suffer and die. That was all Ae needed to do.

In the middle of the stage, a representative with a microphone just walked and greeted everyone. It was the beginning of the event.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! The auction event will now start!"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ========
> 
> Hello, everyone! So here's another update! Enjoy!


	58. Chapter 53 - The 6 Year Old Bidder And His Shameless Grandfather

Everyone in their seats was ecstatic when the speaker has officially initiated the auction event. While the speaker continued his introduction, the guests started talking to one another more energetically.

"Apparently, the items being auctioned are truly exceptional. Some of them are never seen before at all! With all the elites here, the competition for the items must be extremely harsh," one of the female guests said to her friend.

Her friend replied, "Ahh, I wish I could get an item, but the chances are too slim. Compared to others, my family is nothing much."

"Ohh, do you know that the French royal family prince is here too!" the friend continued as she pointed at one of the V.I.P seats that were close at the stadium.

"That's Prince Axel Auriant! He is soooo handsome!" The two friends squealed and giggled as they talked about the French royal family member.

The person who is the topic of their discussion was calmly sitting down in his seat with his trusted advisor next to him. Unlike everyone else, Prince Axel did not wear a disguise which showed his fearlessness and great confidence. 

Wearing a white military general uniform with high-ranking medals of recognition that adorned it, the blonde and blue-eyed prince who has well-defined facial features was listening to the speaker in a proper manner.

(A/N: What I pictured him to be, but this is a different prince. Prince Harry of Great Britain.)

As a prodigy of the French royal family, Prince Axel showed exceptional talent in the military in such a young age as a strategist and a soldier. Winning countless battles and finally putting an end to what seemed to be an endless rebellion in the country, the prince earned the title of Magic Knight General only at the age of 21. No one in the history of the French military has ever done such an achievement. Due to this, Prince Axel is well-known and respected throughout the entire world. No one would dare offend him.

       

(A/N: That name is from one of the cast members of French drama titled: SKAM France. Check it out, if you have time. There is a gay storyline about him.)

Not too far away from Prince Axel is the future heir of B.S.G of Thailand.

Facing the slightly tense person next to him, a soft whisper with a tone of concern was uttered. "Ae."

When he heard his name, he looked at Pete with a slight smile on his face. "I'm alright Pete."

He momentarily paused and took a deep breathe shakily as he continued, "I hope to get the <Emperium> without much competition."

Then Ae looked down as if trying to prevent Pete from seeing his expression while his lips trembled and his eyes were forming tears, "If not....I don't...I don't really know what I'm supposed to do...."

Pete quickly caressed Ae's back and used his powers to transfer soothing and calming energy to him.

Comforting him, Pete whispered repeatedly with tenderness and care to his partner, "You'll get it......you'll get it....."

Ae has been through a lot since he came back from Beast Gods' Dimension. Every time he would remember anything related to Can, Ae would start to cry and blame himself. Back in his residence, he refused to leave his room and eat. He even refused to see anyone even Pete. His health quickly deteriorated as a result and his depression became worse. When he was sent to the hospital after collapsing one day, he was in critical condition. Pete rushed to the hospital and witnessed Ae's poor state. Thankfully, he managed to survive.

Since then, Pete would always be by his side, no matter what. He would take care of him and nursed him back to health. Gradually thanks to him and support from family and close friends, Ae became better. After a few months, Ae has slowly recovered. Still, the pain in his heart and guilt was there. In the end, he decided to stick to his belief that he would not give up until he saw with his own two eyes that Can did die. With this reason, he decided that he would go back to the Beast Gods' Dimension and find him.

Earlier this year, he was informed that there was a magic tool called the <Emperium> that would grant him the ability to create a portal to another dimension. After persuading his parents, he was given a Legendary item that he could use in exchange for the <Emperium>. Currently, he was worried that someone else would take the magic tool and his chance to travel back to Beast Gods' Dimension. He did not want this to happen.

With Pete comforting him by his side, Ae calmed down a bit. He looked at Pete again and with a smile, he said, "Thank you, Pete. Thank you for being here with me."

Pete gently smiled back as he nodded while he continued pouring warm and soothing energy to Ae, "En."

When the speaker finished his introduction, he gestured a young beautiful model who was wearing a shimmering red silk dress and black high-heels to come to the stage while bringing the first item to be auctioned.

As the model pushed a cart that was covered with black fabric to the middle of the stage, the speaker enthusiastically said, "Alright everyone, now here's the moment that you've been waiting for!"

Everyone who was close to the stage looked intently and tried to guess what kind of item was behind that black fabric. Similarly, those who were seated far away from the stage like Pond and Can had to look at the huge screen while guessing.

Since this was just the beginning of the auction, Rare grade items were being auctioned first. The items later would be of higher grades. Of course, the best ones would always be showed last. Still, everyone was excited about what items will be uncovered throughout the event.

Without further delay, the speaker uncovered the first item. Most of the guest was filled with awe at the first auctioned item.

Based on their reaction, they knew what was the first item.

(A/N: Moonlight Dagger from Ragnarok Online.)

"Ladies and gentlemen, as you can see the first item is the <Moonlight Dagger>. This Rare grade weapon with sophisticated craftsmanship is meant to deliver quick decisive and fatal blows to the enemies. This dagger has the ability to drain 8% of the person's overall spiritual energy with one slash! Aside from this, it has survival capabilities as well! You'll have the ability to have short-distance teleportation three times before its one-hour ability cooldown.

After explaining the capabilities of the <Moonlight Dagger>, more people became interested in the item. Soon bidding started.

The speaker continued, "The starting bid for the <Moonlight Dagger> is $300,000." Although this price seemed to be expensive for those who did not have wealth, for the elite, this price was not too bad.

One by one, the guests started bidding and outbidding the others.

"$350,000"

"$400,000"

"$500,000"

"$650,000......"

Some time of intense competition has passed and the bidding ended for the first item. The auctioned item fetch a whopping $900,000. It was almost three times the original bidding price. The lucky one who got the item was hidden due to the green robe that he was wearing, but it was evident that he was happy about getting the item.

Seeing how the people here just casually threw money, Can just dejectedly sighed. He could buy his family a brand new home and car with that amount of money. Thankfully, Pond found a way for them to earn actual money. The two of them were also auctioning several items in this event. Earlier, Pond ordered one of his black ravens to manipulate one of the staff members of this event and slip some of their 'useless' treasures to be auctioned. Now, Pond and Can's job was to make sure that the items that they auctioned would get as high amount of money from the bidders as possible.

After waiting for some items to be presented and auctioned, it was now time for one of the 'useless' treasures that Pond and Can auctioned to show up. To be honest, after getting countless treasures in the Beast Gods' Dimension, all the items that were auctioned here so far were ordinary. So, unlike everyone in the audience, both Can and Pond were more interested in trying the free snacks that they got. They would then compare which snack was better and why.

When the 'useless' treasure was uncovered, everyone including the bored French prince became excited.

(A/N: Golden Ornament from you know already!)

"I present to you, the <Golden Ornament>! This wonderful and beautiful intricate Epic grade bracelet with the Worldly Green Emerald Stone as its decoration was created by a nameless craftsman. It has the ability to teleport a group of people in any area around the world within 15 minutes. The teleportation ability of this item can be used twice before its 3-hour cooldown. After being teleported, the bracelet will create a huge group defensive barrier for 30 minutes. The good thing about this item is that it does not even require spiritual energy. The only condition to use it is that you must be above Rainbow Grade Tier 2." 

Listening to the explanation, everyone was tempted to get the item. Now that the world seemed to be becoming more unstable, each powerhouse needs to gather as much power as possible. This item could be used to turn the tide of a battle due to its group teleportation ability that can be used as a surprise attack and its defensive barrier that could save people's lives. With these reasons, even though the requirement to use it must be above Tier 2, everyone would like to get it in any way possible.

The tension in the atmosphere seemed to increase as everyone looked at the item with much desire.

Smiling, the speaker faced the audience and said, "The starting bidding price for the <Golden Ornament> is $30,000,000!"

Can quickly looked at Pond in disbelief. This item is worth $30,000,000!? Then the next other items that they have could fetch more money! Then does this mean that he would be a millionaire!?

Immediately Can's heart started beating fast while his breathing became irregular. Now, he did not have to borrow money from his family and friends. He could also repay Tin, if he wanted to! Can become really happy that his moneyless life would be finally over!

Raising one hand, a person in the V.I.P. seat said without any hurry, "$30,000,000."

Suddenly, everyone became quiet. When they looked at the person who said it, they could only dejectedly look at one another as they sighed. It was Prince Axel.

No one would dare bid against the powerful French royal family prince. According to rumors, when one bids against a French royal family member, that person would disappear. Even though it was only a rumor, no one would dare risk it and offend the most powerful royal family in Europe. This entire family of Magic Knights is all in the Rainbow Grade. Prince Axel was the second most powerful in his family next to his father. Currently, he is a Rainbow Grade Tier 3 Magic Knight. Would someone dare provoke him? No one will. Only an idiot or someone who does not want to live in this world anymore would do it.

With the chattering around the stadium, no one seemed to be brave enough to outbid the French prince. Expecting such outcome, Prince Axel was satisfied as he looked at the speaker.

Seeing that everyone became quiet after a minute, he decided to end the bidding for the bracelet.

Yet, all of a sudden, he heard a loud conversation from a child and an old man from the audience.

"Grandfather, that bracelet looks really nice. Can you buy it for me?" the voice that came from a child wearing a black cloak said. This child was then grabbing the black cloak of a person next to him as if nagging.

"Aiya! why do you want an ugly bracelet? You have a way more beautiful bracelet that you can wear at home," the grandfather loudly said as he patted his grandchild's head helplessly while he seemed to ignore everyone's stare at them.

Everyone, "...."

"I'm not going to wear it grandfather, I'm gonna use it for my Ring Toss Game Set that grandfather gave to me for my birthday." 

(A/N: Ring Toss Game Set)

"That's good then! My lovely grandchild could only wear the best kind and not mediocre ones. If my grandchild really wants it, then this old man will buy it for you! But promise your grandfather that you'd only use it for your game and nothing else?" the old man happily explained as he continued patting the child.

Everyone, "...."

"Yes! My grandfather's the best!" the child gave his grandfather a warm hug.

Everyone, "...."

As the old man continued to pat the head of his grandchild then squeezing him with a hug, he faced the speaker and said with a sort of condemning tone, "$31,000,000. Hmph!"

Everyone, "....."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> =======
> 
> Hello everyone! So, I was in the mood to write another chapter, so here ya go


	59. Chapter 54 - Fools

When everyone heard the old man and his grandchild's conversation, they could not help, but sneer.

"Who does this old man think he is?" a male guest whispered with a sarcastic tone.

"To offend Prince Axel means death. They're clearly seeking death," another guest whispered.

Everyone seemed to have the same opinion towards the two that they were seeking their own death due to their arrogance.

Suddenly, the trusted advisor who was slightly older than Prince Axel spoke with confidence, "This good sir, are you aware of what you're saying? This item is not meant to be played with by a child. As an advisor to the French royal family, I humbly ask that this good sir give us and the audience some respect."

Hearing such words, the audience agreed.

"Yeah, why would you use such an important item on a ridiculous game? Are you mocking us?" one of the audiences who wanted to be on the French royal family's good side said.

Similarly, everyone who wanted to be on the good side of the French royal family started saying the same thing towards the old man and his grandchild. With this, like a domino effect, almost the entire audience in the stadium was against the two.

Looking at the situation, the advisor smirked. These low and sly kinds of people who wanted to get on their good side have their good use. This should stop the old man from bidding.

"Pfft! Hahahaha!"

Everyone stopped their conversation to one another and looked at the direction where that mocking laugh came. It was from the old man.

"What's it to you people how I want to use this item? If that Prince of yours can't outbid me, then that's his lost and not mine."

Pointing at the trusted advisor of the royal prince, Pond who was disguised as the old man continued, "You don't need to ask such people who wanted to be on your good side to turn against me and my grandchild. Such a tactic doesn't work on us."

The audience immediately became silent. The trusted advisor suddenly became infuriated from embarrassment as he looked at the old man who was hidden by a black cloak and mask.

"YOU..."

As the trusted advisor was about to lash out, he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. It was Prince Axel.

With a calm face, Prince Axel slightly shook his head at his trusted advisor as he continued to focus on the item that was on the stage.

Fighting during the auction event was prohibited. When the trusted advisor realized this, he bowed his head towards the prince and apologized to him.

Nodding, the prince continued to bid.

"$32, 000, 000."

Everyone was amazed at how the prince calmly and gracefully handled the situation. Truly worthy to be part of the royal family.

"Prince Axel, don't let this old man take the item! Teach him a lesson," one of the female guests who was clearly a fan of the prince shouted with enthusiasm. One by one all the female fans in the audience started cheering Prince Axel. The male audience, although reluctant and jealous from not having such attention from the ladies, also cheered.

"Good! Good! This prince seemed to be worthy to be my opponent," Pond said as he caressed his white beard.

"Can he outbid me though?" Pond continued while smiling.

"$35, 000, 000."

"$36, 000, 000."

"$40, 000, 000."

"$45, 000, 000."

The trusted advisor whispered, "Prince Axel, I don't think it would be advisable to continue to bid on this item."

Prince Axel replied, "We'll get this item, no matter what it takes."

The trusted advisor nodded, "We're not quite sure who these people are, but if the prince truly wants this item, then so it'll be."

Prince Axel continued to bid, "$50,000,000."

Using telepathy, Can who was in the form of a child asked, "Pond, how far are we going to bid?"

"A little bit more. This prince could bid until $60, 000, 000. Until then, continue doing your part," Pond happily replied using telepathy.

As the bidding war continued between the prince and the old man, the audience could not help, but question who the old man really was. For someone to attempt to bid against the prince, only those with the same or higher status could do so. Even B.S.G or E.A would be careful not to offend the French royal family. Who were these people exactly?

The trusted advisor seemed to sweat when the bidding was about to reach to $60, 000,000 which was already doubled the initial value of the <Golden Ornament>.

If it was before, this amount of money was not a problem to the royal family, but since the royal treasury has been used to fund the war against the rebellion in France, the royal family could be considered broke.

Prince Axel's attitude slightly changed. He knew how his family did not have the wealth it had before, but this item was truly important for future military operations. He had to take it no matter what.

Forming a fist while maintaining a calm face, Prince Axel continued to bid. "$60,000,000."

This amount of money was all the treasury gave to him for this event, if the old man continues to bid, then he would lose. Prince Axel does not want to resort to violence afterwards.

When both Can and Pond heard the amount of money the prince offered, the two smiled wickedly. The trusted advisor seemed to have sensed their wicked smile, so he quickly turned his head towards them. Unfortunately, he was unable to catch them. Even if he did, what could he do? He does not know who these people were to begin with.

Thinking about their current situation, the trusted advisor could not allow the royal prince to lose face from losing this bid. Without asking for the prince's permission, the trusted advisor released a suppressing pressure from his Rainbow Grade Tier 3 Magic Knight's spiritual core. Instantly, everyone below tier 3, felt fear and sensed suppression. They were unable to move due to the overwhelming pressure from the trusted advisor. Unlike those from below tier 3, those who were the same tier only felt slight pressure. Those who were above tier 3 were unaffected.

Although violence was prohibited in the auction event, threatening was not. This was the reason that the trusted advisor was willing to release such oppressing pressure.

When Prince Axel realized what his advisor did without his permission, he became unhappy. Yet, even if the advisor noticed the unhappy expression of his prince, he continued releasing his aura to let the old man know that provoking the royal family was not a smart choice.

"I hope that this good sir would give the French royal family some face," the trusted advisor said with a provocative tone.

"Pfft! I didn't know that the Prince keeps an untrained dog by his side. I thought that the royal family has high standards, I guess I'm wrong," Pond replied with sarcasm.

Instantly, the trusted advisor became more furious.

"Do you want to take this outside, old man?" the advisor challenged as he gritted his teeth.

The atmosphere suddenly became tense. Everyone knew that the trusted advisor to the prince had a bad temper and was cruel to his enemies. If one was not careful, offending this person was similar to having a death sentence.

"How dare you disrespect my grandfather, you untrained dog!"

Everyone, "..."

The audience looked at the source of that voice. It was the old man's grandchild. Why does it seem that he was unaffected by an oppressive aura? Also, are you not being disrespectful also?

"Hey, kid. Don't get involved or..."

Releasing an oppressive aura, Can said with his child's voice, "Or else what?"

Everyone suddenly gasped.

"Tier 4!? The kid is a Rainbow Grade Tier 4.....Who...Who are these people!?" one of the audience shakily said as he became more frightened.

Those who were unable to stand the pressure from Can passed out all of a sudden. With such oppressive power, everyone including Ae, Pete, Tin, and his subordinates were observing in great interest.

The trusted advisor could not believe that the child was more powerful than him. He soon realized that he has offended a powerful person. Why did he do such a stupid thing!?

With sweat forming on his face, the trusted advisor seemed not to be able to talk back due to fear.

Finally, Prince Axel made a move. First, he gestured his advisor to stop releasing his aura. Second, he faced Pond and Can and apologized on behalf of his advisor.

"I would like to apologize for the rudeness of my subordinate."

The trusted advisor tried to stop the prince from apologizing, but the prince ignored him.

"I'll make sure to discipline him properly, please forgive him," the prince continued as he bowed.

Can stopped releasing his oppressive aura.

"You better put a leash on him," Pond continued.

Prince Axel only nodded and returned to his seat.

The audience was stunned. Prince Axel seemed to have lost to the old man.

Such a scene was truly unexpected. Yet, the audience could not help but hate the old man and his grandchild more for being rude and ruthless towards the prince.

Suddenly, the grandchild of the old man started talking to one another.

"Grandfather, I don't want the item anymore. Looking at it, it looks really ugly. It's just going to ruin my mood when I play the Ring Toss Game with you," Can said as he hugged Pond once again.

Everyone, "...."

Patting Can's head, Pond shook his head, "It couldn't be helped. If you don't like it then we're not going to buy that ugly bracelet."

Everyone, "...."

Since Pond and Can achieved their goal of doubling the bidding price of the <Golden Ornament>, there was no need to further provoke the prince. The two of them were quite happy about the results. They are now millionaires! Although they wanted to keep a low profile throughout the auction event, the amount of money that they could get here was too tempting to avoid. Whether provoking a prince or someone with higher authority, when it comes to money, Pond and Can would not mind offending people to get what they want.

Spending time in the Beast Gods' Dimension, Can seemed to be influenced by Pond's foolish and evil behavior. This could explain why Can was willing to cooperate with Pond in his scheme to get more money.

"The prince can get that ugly bracelet," Pond declared.

The speaker who was silent and tense the entire time waited if someone else would bid. After some moments of silence, he declared Prince Axel as the winner of the item.

"The <Golden Ornament> is now sold for $60,000,000 to Prince Axel!"

The entire audience including the prince and his advisor were silent. They realized that they seemed to have been fooled by Pond and Can.

Looking at the prince next to him, the advisor felt terrified after seeing the prince's reaction. He was smiling.

Being together in battle with the prince for a long time, Prince Axel would only smile when he finds something interesting and that kind of interest usually shows when he finds a prey. Swallowing his saliva, the advisor could only shudder at what the prince might do to the old man and his grandchild.

Soon, bidding resumed. One by one, the items of higher rarities were auctioned. When auctioned items that both Can and Pond would come out, the two would try to interfere to increase the bidding price, but they found out that they did not have to do it since the people would continue to bid higher than Pond's expected bidding price. Everything went smoothly, until the final item that everyone was waiting for finally showed up.

"Ladies and gentlemen, for the last item of this event!"

As he spoke, the speaker quickly removed the black fabric and showed the item that was on the cart.

"I present to you, the <Emperium>!"

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> =====
> 
> Sorry for the wait everyone! I'm working on the other chapter. I'll publish it tomorrow as soon as possible.


	60. Chapter 55 - War on Emperium

The speaker did not even have to tell the audience what the item was called. The <Emperium> was not a secret to anyone attending this event. Everyone knew what it was and its superb capability.

"It seemed that everyone is well informed about our last item. Very well then," the speaker looked at the other side of the stage where the owner of this item was waiting. Everyone looked at the direction where the speaker faced.

Soon, an elderly man with black long hair wearing a black suit walked towards the middle of the stage with his wife next to her who was wearing an exquisite beautiful purple dress while adorned with lovely pieces of jewelry.

"It's Mr. and Mrs. WangXian. The organizers of the event itself," one of the male audience members said as he admired the elderly couple.

(A/N: You guys know where WangXian came from? Hint: GDC)

One of the female audience members said with a trace of happiness, "They're so lovely! Ahh, I'm truly envious of them!"

The elderly couple was popular not only because of their long-lasting wonderful marriage but also due to their influence and power all over the world. As the owner of the most famous auction house in the world, these two were obviously not from a normal background.

Mrs. WangXian is a Rainbow Grade Tier 5 Alchemist. She could be considered as the current top alchemist in the world. Her specialty as an alchemist is to create miraculous pills such as pills that could allow a person to level up quicker, control powers, recreate a part of an organ, etc. Since she is considered the best alchemist, her services are naturally very expensive.

Mr. WangXian, on the other hand, is a Rainbow Grade Tier 5 Craftsman. Just like his wife, Mr. WangXian could be considered as the current top craftsman in the world. His specialty is creating powerful pieces of equipment that could shake the balance of the world. As the top craftsman, his services are also quite expensive.

Most of the items that were auctioned today were created by the old couple. Due to their status, everyone would not dare offend them. Even Can and Pond would not dare offend such people. It would be unwise to become their enemies.

"I'd let the esteemed owner of this auction house and also this item to explain his demands for the exchange," the speaker said as he bowed to Mr. and Mrs. WangXian.

After giving the microphone to Mr. WangXian, the speaker promptly left the stage.

Everyone became silent as they listened to Mr. WangXian talk.

"As you may know, this Legendary magic tool <Emperium> is one of a kind treasure that I painstakingly collected during one of my expeditions during my youthful days. This magic tool would allow a person to help create a stable portal to another dimension. Of course, such an important magic tool that I'm going to exchange naturally needs to meet an item that has an equivalent value. If you have an item that you think is worthy to be exchanged, then I'll be the judge of it. Let's begin."

Concise and straight to the point, that was Mr. WangXian's way of dealing with his business. The audience could not help but admire him more. So cool!

Immediately, one by one, the representatives of the elite families started showing their prized possessions that were of Legendary rarities in exchange for the <Emperium>, but they were easily rejected by Mr. WangXian.

No matter how amazing the items that were presented by the audience, Mr. WangXian was not at all impressed. In the end, he felt that there was no interesting worthy item to be exchanged with the <Emperium>.

"I would like to exchange the <Emblem of the Sun God> with the esteemed Mr. WangXian's <Emperium>."

Hearing about the <Emblem of the Sun God>, everyone including the old couple became piqued with interest all of a sudden as they looked at the owner of the voice from one of the V.I.P seats. Although the person was wearing a disguise, Mr. WangXian knew who it was.

"The <Emblem of the Sun God>, a necessary material to create a Mythical rarity weapon," Mr. WangXian said as he stroked his beard.

"Mr. WangXian is truly insightful. Indeed, this material could be used to create a Mythical weapon," Ae said while he showed the glowing golden sphere with his left hand. 

(A/N: Emblem of the Sun God from Ragnarok Online!)

One must know that mythical weapons are considered the most powerful weapons in this world. In the entire history of humanity, only three mythical weapons were known to be created. Unfortunately, the origins and their current locations were unknown. This caused many people to believe that probably such weapons do not exist after all. Yet, if someone was to yield such a mythical weapon, that person has the capability to rule the entire world.

Creating a mythical weapon requires a lot of rare resources. If Mr. WangXian could create such a weapon, then he could easily become the true powerhouse of this world. Of course, the creation of such a weapon is quite expensive and has a quite high risk of failure no matter how experienced or great a craftsman might be. Due to this, even if the <Emblem of the Sun God> seemed to be a good item to exchange for the <Emperium>, Mr. WangXian was still hesitant. If he fails, then the consequences would be bad for him. He could die if he fails. He did not want that. He did not want to leave his wife alone.

Someone suddenly interrupted the two.

"I'm exchanging the <Symbol of the Nine Realms> for the <Emperium>," the man who was wearing a red suit and black mask said with an unhurried tone as he showed the deep purple emblem that was covered with a black aura.

(A/N: Symbol of the Nine Realms from Ragnarok Online.)

Everyone including the couple gazed in awe and fear as they saw the Legendary item.

"The <Symbol of the Nine Realms>, the only item that is capable of removing and implementing any type of powerful curses. It also has to capability to kill up to nine people instantly in a mysterious way as long as the user speaks the name of whom that person wanted to kill," Mr. WangXian explained as he stared at the purple emblem that emits a dark and ominous aura.

"Mr. WangXian is worthy of his name as the top craftsman," Tin said as he smirked.

If compared to the <Emblem of the Sun God>, the <Symbol of the Nine Realms> was a safer choice to exchange with the <Emperium>. Mr. WangXian does have enemies who he wanted to kill. With this item, he could easily destroy them without him being blamed for his enemies' death.

When looking at the satisfied reaction of Mr. WangXian, Ae could not help it, but become more anxious. He really needed the <Emperium>.

Once again, Ae's heart started to beat uncontrollably fast as he began to shake. He did not want anyone to take the <Emperium>. He has to get it no matter what. When he looked at the direction of the man who was holding the <Symbol of the Nine Realms>, his heart stopped momentarily. The mysterious man in a red suit and mask was smiling at him. It was as if this mysterious man was enjoying his miserable state. Who was this guy?

Seeing that Ae started to become anxious once again, Pete immediately transferred calming energy into Ae.

"Mr. WangXian has not decided yet. You haven't lost yet," Pete whispered to Ae.

Taking a deep breath as he looked away, Ae said "I...I don't know...."

"Is there anyone else who would like to speak up?" Mr. WangXian asked. By the looks of it, it was clear that he has decided to take the <Symbol of the Nine Realms> as an exchange.

"Hold on esteemed Mr. WangXian! My grandfather would like to speak!"

Everyone, "..."

That voice was quite familiar to them. It must be those two again. What kind of trouble were they going to do now?

Mr. WangXian looked at the direction of the two. He knew that these pair of grandfather and grandchild were not the original owner of the special invitation card that they own just like the guy in the red suit. Although he knew this, he did not exactly care. He cared more about what it was that they could bring. He knew that he would not be disappointed.

Raising his eyebrows, Tin looked towards the direction of the pair. These two could not possibly possess a better item than his?

"My grandchild is bold for speaking up for his grandfather," Pond said as he petted Can's little head.

"Good child," he continued.

Facing Mr. WangXian, Pond continued his act, "My lovely grandchild is a shy kid. For him to be able to speak up in front of many people deserves praise from his grandfather."

Everyone in their heart, "These two were still acting shameless!"

Coughing once, Mr. WangXian went straight to the point, "What would this elder like to exchange?"

"This!"

Quickly, Pond raised his right hand that held an old tattered book with a proud look on his face.

Everyone looked at the item that he was holding. An old book?

"Is he joking? It looks like trash," an audience whispered.

"There should be a limit on how much a person can joke," another person said.

"First it was Prince Axel, now even Mr. WangXian. They're shameless. Aren't they afraid of dying?" another person asked.

Everyone in the audience had doubts in their heads about the book that Pond was holding. Even Mr. WangXian was a little hesitant.

"Could this elder explain what this item is?" Mr. WangXian asked.

With a smile, Pond teased Mr. WangXian, "I'm surprised that this esteemed craftsman doesn't know. Well, I don't expect anyone to know about it in any case."

"This book is called the <Book of the Celestial Craftsman>. Mr. WangXian must've heard about such a book, I presume?" Pond continued.

When Pond saw the shocked expression on Mr. WangXian, he knew that the deal was already sealed.

"I've only heard the existence of such a book in ancient texts. I didn't know that such a thing existed," Mr. WangXian replied with a hint of excitement.

The audience looked at one another, they do not know exactly what the two were talking about, but based on the reaction of Mr. WangXian and his explanation, it just meant that the book must truly be valuable.

"Then Mr. WangXian knows what is contained in the book?" Pond asked enthusiastically.

"Yes, it contains all ancient blueprints to create Epic and Legendary items. Even the blueprints for Mythical weapons were listed on the book," Mr. WangXian answered. Even though he was the best craftsman, Mr. WangXian still lacked a lot of blueprints to create Epic and Legendary items. Having this precious ancient book will surely increase his knowledge about craftsmanship. This book is way more precious and valuable than the Legendary items that were presented by the entire audience combined. Even compared to the <Emperium>, this book had more value. There was nothing to discuss anymore. He must get it!

Mrs. WangXian saw the look on the face of her husband. Whispering to him, she said, "Don't you think it's quite suspicious that this person is willing to exchange such priceless item for an <Emperium>? For all we know, the book is fake. Do you have a way to prove that this book is not fake?"

When Mr. WangXian heard his wife, he nodded. "Yes."

Facing Pond, Mr. WangXian asked, "Do you have the key to open the contents of the ancient book?"

"Naturally," Pond said as he threw the key towards Mr. WangXian.

"This key could only be used by a craftsman of your caliber. If you transfer your spiritual energy into the key, you should be able to sense its secrets and power of the original craftsman who created the book and the key itself," Pond continued to explain.

Catching the golden-colored key, Mr. WangXian observed it. Made from an unknown gold material with mysterious symbols engraved on the key, Mr. WangXian could tell that this key was not fake and out of this world.

Transferring his spiritual energy into the key, a faint glow on the key showed up. Based on the satisfied and excited expression from Mr. WangXian, it confirmed that the key was authentic which meant that the book that Pond was holding was also real.

"It's true. This elder does possess the authentic <Book of the Celestial Craftsman>!" Mr. WangXian nodded.

Immediately, he decided to stop the bidding for the <Emperium> even though there were still people who wanted to try their luck. It was then that the auction event officially ended.

Everyone talked to themselves and tried to guess who the old man and the child were, but in the end, they were unable to guess. The two became a mystery and a topic of discussion to everyone.

Since it has been decided that Mr. WangXian would take the book, Ae felt weak as tears fell from his eyes. How would he go find Can now?

Thankfully, Pete was there to support him.

Meanwhile, Tin's mood became horrible and menacing. Those pair of grandchild and grandfather dared to take his treasure, so he decided to take the <Emperium> no matter what it takes.

Ignoring Ae and Pete, Tin gestured the siblings to leave with him to ambush the two outside.

Prince Axel calmly stood up with his advisor as they went to the exchange room to get the <Golden Ornament>.

Similarly, both Pond and Can went to the exchange room to collect the money and the <Emperium>. In total, they managed to get about $250,000, 000. Both of them were happy from how much money they have earned.

"Can, how's your condition?" Pond asked as he put the <Emperium> and cash in his storage ring.

Can looked at his body. It was getting worse. His left arm faded completely. Now, parts of his body and head were gradually fading.

"Not good," Can replied.

"We're leaving immediately," Pond replied.

The two quickly left the exchange area.

Before they left, they managed to encounter Prince Axel and his trusted advisor.

Pond mocked the prince by saying, "Thanks for your contribution, Prince Axel. We're now richer thanks to you."

After patting the shoulder of the prince, the two then dashed out from the exchange area.

Both Prince Axel and the advisor, "...."

Mr. and Mrs. WangXian wanted to talk to them, but seeing that they already left, they could only sigh. They thought it would be great to know these people.

When the pair came out, the path that they took was lead to a crowd less area that was close to a forest where Pond's pet was relaxing.

Before Pond could call his pet, his movements were stopped. He could not move.

Looking down with his eyes, he saw shadows that were holding him back.

"Who is it!?" Pond shouted in anger. Who dares attack this God Beast!

In front of him, two people who were wearing monk robes showed up.

Meanwhile, Can was already grabbed by the guy wearing a red suit and mask.

At this point, Can's eyes and ears were losing their functions. He was unable to hear or see anymore, yet he knew that there was trouble.

"Hand over the <Emperium> or I'll kill him," Tin said threateningly as black lightning covered his right hand.

"Bastard!" Pond said angrily. He tried to communicate with his pet bird, but he could not do it. His spiritual energy was restricted by the shadows. By the looks of it, this person with the red suit was way more powerful than Can himself. Who was this bastard?

Suddenly a powerful arrow was sent flying towards Tin's direction. Tin managed to destroy the arrow before it could even touch him.

Looking at the source of the attack, Tin smiled. He knew very well who it was.

"Leave those two alone!"

Tin thought it was great. He could get the <Emperium> and at the same time destroy Ae.

Licking his red lips, Tin whispered, "Truly great."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> =======
> 
> Another chapter! That was fast! I might release another one if I feel like it XD


	61. Chapter 56 - Showdown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ======
> 
> Ok another chapter! I know that the reunion was short, but the next chapter would be better. I hope! Alright that's it for now!

Within a short distance, the Seven Deadly Sins Beasts showed up and surrounded Tin and his subordinates.

"Trying to become a hero to save these two?" Tin asked as he focused on Pond.

"Or do you also desire to get the <Emperium>?" he continued with a smirk.

Ae who was standing not too far away from the mysterious masked man suddenly stopped his movements as he said, "I'm not like you who would resort to killing people to get what he wanted!"

Hearing his words, Tin could not help it but laugh. "Ahahahahaha!"

Tin repeated the words that Ae said unhurriedly, "'I'm not like you who would resort to killing people to get what he wanted!'"

He shook his head in disbelief and then faced Ae, "Can you hear yourself saying those words? How can you have the conscience to say this phrase, hmm? Have you forgotten the crime that you committed?"

At first, Ae did not know what the guy in the red suit and mask was saying, but then he realized what he was talking about. The news about Can was supposed to be a secret, so how did this guy know? Who could he be?

Yet at that very moment, Ae felt a sudden chill on his body. 

It cannot be Tin? No, that cannot be, the voice of this person was different from Tin.

"Who...who are you?" Ae said as he became defensive, yet there was a trace of fear on his face. He was not afraid of Tin. He was afraid of guilt when he meets him.

"You're asking me who I am? Well, I'm the one who will end your life!" Tin declared threateningly as he pointed to himself.

_"Nine Realms' Black Lightning"_

With the black lightning on his right hand, he directed a surprise attack towards one of the Seven Deadly Sins Beasts without moving from his position. With a deafening crackling sound from the black lightning, Archbishop Magaleta who was the healer of the group was hit. Instantly, she fell down as her entire skin on her body was a crispy charcoaled color while being bathed of her blood. With one attack, one of the proud Seven Deadly Sins Beasts was removed from the battle and went back directly to her dimension.

Ae did not expect that one of his beasts would be in such a sorry state in such a short time, yet he knew he must continue fighting.

Quickly, Royal Guard Randel went into a defensive position.

_"Royal Guard Protection!"_

With Ae's command, Royal Guard Randel performed a spell that gave the rest of his teammates a protective barrier.

_"Ultimate Group Single Attack!"_

Hearing another order from their master, the remaining Six Deadly Sins' Beasts performed all of their most powerful single attack towards the masked man in a red suit.

Royal Guard Randel, " _Guardian's Terror!_ "

Ranger Shecil, " _Rain of Arrow!_ "

Minstrel Alphoccio, " _Sleep Curse_!"

Guillotine Cross Eremes, " _Bleed!_ "

Rune Knight Seyren, " _Destructive Slash!_ "

Warlock Katrinn, " _Elemental Blow!_ "

With the combined power of the Six Deadly Sins' Beasts, Ae was confident enough that he could damage the guy in the red suit. Yet, as if mocking him, he saw that the mysterious guy was yawning like he was bored. He did not even bother moving from his position.

As the powerful attack spells were released, Tin slowly raised his hand.

_"Absorb!"_

Immediately all the released powers from Ae's beasts were absorbed. A small sphere of black light then hovered on top of Tin's right hand. It was the size of a small coin.

When Ae saw how this mysterious guy just casually absorbed his beasts' ultimate spells, he knew at that point that he would not be able to fight back. It seemed that this mysterious person was playing with him since the beginning.

"This is all that you can do? Pathetic," Tin scoffed.

"Let me show you true power!" he continued.

_"Amplify!"_

In such a short time, the small black sphere that contained the powers of the combined attack of Ae's beasts became bigger. The ground shook and the atmosphere surrounding Tin became darker. As the black sphere got bigger, its size grew as big as a basketball.

"This much of strength should be enough to deal with your prized beasts," Tin said with a wicked smile.

_"Release!"_

The black sphere split itself into six smaller black spheres. Then they dispersed and rushed to Ae's remaining beasts. As soon as the black spheres touched the beasts, they all exploded and engulfed each of the beasts with black flames.

Each of the beasts was screaming in agonizing pain as they tried to remove the black flames that were covering them. Unfortunately, no matter how much they tried, the flame just continued to grow and burn them.

Being restricted by black shadows, Ae was unable to do anything as he just watched his beasts being burned by the black flame. 

One by one, each of his beasts fell down as they slowly turned to ashes. As they helplessly asked for their owner to assist them, Ae could only stare at them while tears on his eyes kept falling. He could not do anything at all.

"So...sorry....everyone...," Ae stuttered as he broke down.

When the last beast finally turned into ashes, Ae was finally released by the shadows that restricted him earlier. Right now, he was lost at what to do.

Yet, slowly he approached the ashes of his comrades in silence.

Seeing his miserable state, Tin could not be happier. With a wide smile on his face, he approached Ae while still holding the kid on his hand.

"How does it feel to lose someone important to you, Ae?" Tin said as he removed the mask that he was wearing.

When Ae looked up, his body shook in fear. His lips trembled as he whispered, "Ti-Tin? So, it's really you."

"Why does it look like you just saw a ghost? You thought I was dead?" Tin teased.

"I didn't kill Can. I-I was ma-manipulated. I wouldn't dare kill a friend and a brother to me," Ae explained as he started sobbing. The pain and the guilt that he tried so hard to hide finally erupted once again. In addition to the death of his beasts, the pain that he was feeling became worse. He was truly useless.

Anger surged in Tin's heart as he kicked Ae in the stomach, "You killed him because you were jealous of him! You wanted him to die because you felt threatened. Blame yourself for being weak and insecure. Why does it have to be him who had to suffer huh!?"

As he continued to kick Ae, Tin became angrier. The blows of those powerful kicks were not enough payment for the pain and suffering that he had caused. As Tin's anger became more severe, the corruption of his body due to the impure spiritual energy was taking over. Tin's eyes gradually turned black. His breathing became irregular and the veins on his body became black too.

"Tin, stop!"

In an instant, Pete showed up in front of Tin and shielded Ae with his body.

"Please Tin, spare Ae. Don't kill him," Pete said as he started crying while hugging Ae who was already unconscious and bloody on the floor.

"Move Pete! I'll kill him for what he did!" Tin shouted as he momentarily stopped from kicking.

"Please stop it. Can would not want to see you doing this. Please Tin, I beg you!" Pete pleaded as he grasped Ae tightly.

Tin did not listen to Pete.

"Move Pete while I still have my patience!" Tin shouted.

Being persistent, Pete did not move, "No, if you're going to harm him, then you have to go through me!"

"Then so be it!"

When Tin was about to kick Pete away from Ae, the child next to him suddenly collapsed. 

Momentarily, Tin became distracted as he looked at the kid still covered in a black cloak.

Pond who was unable to hear their entire conversation, but could see what was happening witnessed Can collapsing.

With sudden fear that he felt, Pond screamed on the top of his lungs, "CAN! CAN! CAN YOU HEAR ME!? MASTER!?"

When he heard what Pond said, Tin stopped his actions immediately. The name 'Can' echoed in his head and his heart which somehow caused the corruption in his body to become tamed. His eyes and veins suddenly returned to their normal colors. Still, his breathing was irregular. This irregularity was not due to anger, but rather from sudden anticipation.

"What did he say?" Pete asked with shock on his face as he looked at the person who collapsed next to Tin. 

"Ca-Can?" Tin looked at the person next to him who was wearing a black cape. His eyes were suddenly filled with tears. He hoped inside him that he was not being tricked. Yet, observing the body, Tin did notice that the height of this child changed. It was evident that the original appearance of this person was not of a child, but an adult.

Slowly, Tin removed the black cloak that was covering the person. Although there was still a mask on his face, Tin was quite sure who it was. As he shakily removed the mask. His suspicions were confirmed. It was Can! Can is here with him, finally!

"Can, thank god. You're alive... You're alive...." Tin whispered with joy evident on his face.

When Pete saw this, he was speechless, but just like Tin, he was overflowed with happiness. If Ae knew that Can was alive, he would not have to suffer anymore.

Although Can was unconscious, he was still breathing. Still, both Pete and Tin noticed the fading appearance of Can.

"What's wrong with him?" Tin asked worriedly.

As soon as Tin let his guard down, the shadows that were restricting Pond were gone. Whistling, Pond called his Mythical pet. Within an instant, his black raven pet swooped down from the sky and took Pond and Can.

Because everything happened within a second, Tin was unable to react immediately. When he finally realized that Can was taken away once again, it was as if Tin's world was destroyed once again. It was as if fate was playing another cruel joke on him. 

Looking at the direction of where the black raven escaped, he did not notice that he was missing an arm.

"Grandmaster Tin, you're bleeding! We have to treat your wound quickly!" Type said as he took Tin away and disappeared with Cha Aim.

"Wait!" Pete shouted, but it was too late. They were all gone. 

"Can is alive, but why was he fading? Who was the guy with him? Also, what happened to Tin? Who were those people with him?" These were the questions that were on Pete's mind at that moment.

Shaking his head, he looked at Ae who needed immediate medical attention. He would worry about those things later. He has to help Ae as soon as he can. Still, there was a weak smile on his face. He knew that Ae was incapable of killing Can.

In the location where Can initially created a portal to this world, Pond lay him on the ground. This area would be much easier to control since a portal was already created before. Looking at Can's state, almost 50% of his body has faded. Pond has to act fast as soon as possible.

_"Body Manipulation!"_

The spiritual energy in the form of strings on Pond's fingertips was attached to Can's different body parts. Then with movements of his hands, he was able to control Can's actions sloppily.

Taking out the <Emperium> from his storage ring, he put it on Can's right hand. With slight manipulation of Pond's fingers, he was able to instruct Can's body to create a portal.

_"Create Portal!"_

With Pond's spiritual energy and using Can as a vessel, Pond managed to successfully create a stable portal with the assistance of the <Emperium>.

With the portal finally opening up, Can's body returned to normal. Aside from this, both Bacsojin and Xu Xian were able to come out of the portal. The moment that the couple saw both Can and Pond in a such a state, they immediately went to check the two of them. Thankfully, they were only exhausted.

Seeing that everything went well, Pond collapsed after depleting his own spiritual energy.

When the two woke up, a few days had passed already.

 


	62. Chapter 57 - Long-awaited Reunion

It was a peaceful night. The moon and the stars were up in the sky where they give the world a glimpse of light from the total darkness. These bodies of the universe were once used for navigation as not to get lost and to be able to find one's way back home.

Looking up above the familiar sky, Can knew that he was home.

In front of him was a white gate that was next to an old light post. It has already lost its pristine white color, since it was already covered with rust. Can must remind his mother that they have to repaint the gate.

As he was about to touch the lock of the gate to open it, he hesitated all of a sudden. How was he supposed to greet them? Would it be better to visit them in the morning after all?

In the end, after contemplating, Can still decided to go inside. He wanted to meet them as soon as possible and tell them that he is still alive. He knew that his family has suffered enough.

Opening the lock of the gate with his key that he kept in his storage ring, he entered. Slowly, he took his time as he looked around and reminisced the moments he had at the small front yard that they have. His parents used to plant their own vegetables in this small area. Ley and he would help out from time to time to help nourish the plants. It was a fun bonding activity for the entire family. Yet, after their father died, somehow planting and nourishing vegetables were not as fun as they used to. It was suffocating even. In the end, the plants died and the front yard became empty.

Now approaching the door to his house, Can suddenly became nervous. As he took a deep breath to calm down, he took out the house key from one of his pockets. When he finally unlocked the door and came inside the house, he turned on the light of the living room. Surprisingly as he looked and walked around the room, there were no changes. Their old television was still there. The small green sofa, the small wobbling wooden table, and the cheap shelf with a bunch cheap decorations were still there.

When he walked towards the shelf, the picture frame that was on the top shelf of his still complete family caught his attention. He grabbed it and looked at it for a great while. This was the picture of him with his family when he was still young. It was taken when they went out to the mall to celebrate Ley's birthday. It was the last picture that they have taken as a complete family.

"I'm home," Can whispered with a weak smile on his face as he softly touched the picture of his father.

Putting back the picture frame to the shelf, he decided to go to the kitchen. He looked around once again. There were no changes. The kitchen was still the same.

Suddenly, Can's stomach grumbled. He was unable to eat normally today due to the nervousness of going home. It was unexpected of him since when there was usually a problem, he would eat until he felt better. It was not the case this time. Thankfully, Xu Xian, Bacsojin, and Pond were forceful enough to make him eat. Speaking of them, the three decided to roam around Thailand and visit wonderful places at night while they left him to deal with meeting his family. Talk about supporting a friend...Those three might have gone to the night market and eating great food.

Quickly, Can opened the refrigerator and saw some leftover home-cooked food. When he checked the contents of the plastic container, his eyebrows slightly frowned. There were ham and cheese hot pockets.

"Who made these?" Can whispered with confusion evident on his face.

Usually, he was the only one who would prepare this kind of food in the house. Was it Ley? It would be impossible if their mother made them since she did not know how to cook.

Taking a piece of the already cold food, he took a bite. They were less flavorful compared to the ones he made. Still, they taste good. Actually, it could be that he was too hungry, which could be the reason why they taste good. In any case, he would eat them since he was hungry.

While eating food from the plastic container, he decided to go upstairs to go check his room. He wanted to go check on Ley, at first, but he was curious if there were any changes in his room.

As he was about to open the door to his room, the door was somehow already opened slightly. Can did not put much thought about it as he entered.

Turning on the light of the room while chewing on another piece of hot pocket, he noticed that his room did not change either. It was still the same. He thought that his mom would sell his stuff away and move Ley's bed in here since she liked this room due to the better air ventilation from the window in the room. It was great that it did not happen. He liked this room.

Speaking of the window, it was open. Why would someone leave a window open? Are both Ley and his mother not worried that someone might sneak in and do something bad?

"Did you like the food that I made?" A whisper behind Can's left ear could be heard after the door to his room was closed.

It was then when Can realized that he was not alone in his room. The moment he turned around, he was pushed to his bed. As he was pushed, the plastic container and the food in his mouth were dropped.

"Ti-Tin!?" Can whisper in surprise as his eyes widened in disbelief when he saw Tin. When did he get here!? How did he know I was here!?

While being pinned to his bed, Tin said, "You came back without saying anything to me? Why are you being cruel to me, hmm? Do you want me to chase after you?" 

Tin gripped both of Can's arms while on top of him, so he would not be able to escape. His expression was filled with suffering and slight anger as if he was wronged.

When Can looked at Tin, he looked scary as if he was mad. Can became uncomfortable as he slightly struggled. "I-I had trouble coming back, so I had to....What happened to your arm!?"

Seeing the missing left arm that has a huge bandage that was dyed with blood, Can was suddenly filled with worry.

As if he did not hear him, Tin continued to complain. "This time, now that I have you cornered, I won't let you escape. If I have to, I'll lock you up in my room and never let you out!"

"Tin, listen to me! You're bleeding!" Can finally raised his voice as he stopped struggling. 

"Can, do you know how much I've suffered when I learned that you were gone?"

While Can was focusing on the bleeding bandage on Tin's missing left arm, he did not realize that Tin's eyes were filled with tears. As those heartfelt warm tears fell to Can's cheeks, Tin finally broke down and sobbed.

The sounds of Tin's cry finally caught Can's attention. When he looked up, his heart soften. As soon as he had the chance, he managed to remove one of his hands from Tin's grasp.

Slowly, he touched Tin's cheeks that were filled with tears.

"I'm back," Can whispered tenderly as he wiped the tears from Tin's eyes.

"Can...Can....Can....You're back...finally....," Tin whispered as he finally smiled.

Suddenly Tin collapsed on Can. Based on Can's observation, it was most likely from fatigue and continuous bleeding. It seemed that Tin escaped from a hospital since he was still wearing a blue patient gown. What a troublesome person! He was going to visit him next after he checked on his family, but he did not expect that Tin would be the one visiting him.

Carefully pushing Tin to his bed, Can quickly took a powerful healing potion from his storage ring. After removing the cap off the potion, he poured the red liquid inside Tin's mouth.

Soon, Tin started to sweat as his eyebrows frowned due to discomfort. Yet, within a minute, he was stable once again. The bleeding has stopped and healed the wound completely.

Looking at his missing left arm, Can wondered how Tin lost his arm. In the end, Can decided that he will ask him later when he wakes up. Can was not too worried about his missing left arm because he has a way for Tin to regrow it back.

With sweat covering Tin all over his body, Can grabbed a small towel from his storage ring. Softly, he wiped the unconscious man's face.

"He's still the same, except for the eye bags," Can whispered as he admired while at the same time feeling sorry about Tin's current state. He really did miss Tin terribly.

Thinking about it, he wondered what Tin did the entire time when he was gone. He wondered how would he react if he learned that he did not have the <Soul Fire> that he promised. Would he be upset?

Although Can has spent a long time looking for treasures in the Beast Gods' Dimension, he never found a tool that would allow for an individual to regain one's spiritual core.

Patting Tin's forehead with his towel, Can said, "You wouldn't want to be immortal in any case, right?"

"I bet you'll be sad if I'm gone....," he continued.

Immediately, Can realized what he just said and blushed.

"Ahh! Can don't be arrogant!" Can covered his face from the sudden embarrassment.

When he regained his composure, Can continued wiping Tin's face. In a little while, Can wanted to take this opportunity to examine Tin. Being a curious person and due to Pond's influence, Can became a little naughty.

With his index finger, he tapped Tin's red lips multiple times. Although they were a little dry, they were still seductive enough to tempt Can to touch them.

Shaking his head, Can snapped out of his daze. He should not take advantage of Tin's unconsciousness. Besides, the two of them were inside his house! How can he be this disrespectful to his family?

As soon as he finished wiping the sweat from his head, Can realized that he had to remove Tin's clothing and wipe the sweat on his body. His heartbeat quickly rose as he was filled with nervousness.

"I'm only wiping his sweat and nothing else. If I don't do this, he'll get sick. Right, there's nothing wrong with me wiping his body.....I can do this," Can reasoned as he took a deep breath once again as he swallowed his saliva.

Slowly, he carefully removed the top part of the patient gown which exposed Tin's well-defined and toned abs. When Can saw such a scene, he could not help it but blush even more. This guy was too damn attractive!

Refocusing, Can shakily but firmly grabbed the towel. He started wiping Tin's lower body then upwards. Since he was struggling a little bit at wiping his upper body, Can leaned closer to Tin where his face was close to his hardened chest.

At that point, the door of his room was suddenly swung open. Can did not move from his position at all. From that moment, he realized that there would be a huge storm coming.

When Can faced the door, he felt that his life was doomed. He wished that it was his mother who saw him, but it had to be the worst person possible. It was his BoyXBoy loving sister, Ley. His sister was just staring at him and the unconscious man in the bed with her eyes and mouth wide open.

Looking at Can's current position, it implied that he was going to do something provocative to Tin who was half-naked and unconscious. It looked like a defenseless man was being taken advantage of! This was not what he expected he would meet his sister! What kind of reunion was this!? This was a nightmare!

Can was about to explain what happened, but Ley suddenly chose to close the door. This action of his sister made Can confused. She just walked out without hearing his explanation?

Can's expected loving and tear-inducing family reunion became an embarrassing and nightmarish reunion.

Would it have been better if he did not come tonight after all?

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ====
> 
> I couldn't believe I was able to write 4 chapters within a week. This is an accomplishment for me. Alright, thank you guys for your support! I'll see you on the next chapter.
> 
> Hope you enjoy this one. This chapter did not have too much intimate parts, but I promise you, it will happen.


	63. Chapter 58 - Warm Breakfast

"Am....I....dreaming?" Ley whispered.

She was shocked and confused at the same time. She witnessed something unexpected. His dead older brother and Tin were together in a bed. They looked like they were doing something intimate and it seemed that she interrupted them. Wait. Could this be due to her not being able to read boys' love novels anymore which was why she was hallucinating? This should be the reason, right? There was no way that his brother was alive and currently being lovey-dovey with Tin who has been missing for a long time now. This should be all an illusion!

As Ley started to question her reality, she heard footsteps on the floor inside Can's bedroom. Startled, Ley looked at the closed door behind her.

Building her courage, Ley decided to confirm whether what she saw inside was just an illusion or not. After swallowing her saliva, she carefully opened the door.

To her surprise, as soon as she opened the door, Can was already in front of her.

"Ah..mmmfff...!" Ley screamed, but a hand covered her mouth as she was pulled inside Can's room. The door was then closed.

"Ley, don't scream! Calm down! You're gonna wake up mom and give her a heart attack!" Can whispered in panic as he made a shushed gesture towards his sister.

Ley, who was still shocked and scared, immediately nodded.

After a few moments, Can asked, "Are you calm now?"

To be honest, Ley was not calm, but she wanted to ask so many questions, so she nodded quickly.

When Can released his hand from covering Ley's mouth, his sister instantly bombarded him questions.

"How are you still alive? When did you come back? Why did you not contact us? Why is Tin in your bed unconscious? Do you know how worried mom was? Do....."

Yet, before Ley could continue asking his brother more questions, Can went closer to her and hugged her tightly.

"Where's my 'welcome home' first?" Can whispered with a mixture of happiness and heartache to his words. He was happy because now he was with his family. His heart aches because his family must have suffered a lot after they thought that he was dead. But at last, he was home.

Ley was stunned at first because she could not believe that his brother was still alive. Yet, the warmth she felt from the hug felt real. As this warmth wrapped her entire body and penetrated her heart, the sadness and the feeling of incompleteness that she felt since Can died somehow disappeared at that moment. It was then she realized that everything was real. The person in front of him was truly her older brother. He is alive!

With her trembling lips and watery eyes, Ley shakily hugged Can and said, "Welcome back to our home."

As she said those heartfelt words, Ley let out all of her emotions that have been stored within her. When she learned that her brother died that day, she only cried once. She realized that since it was only going to be only her and her mother, she had to be strong or at least pretend to be one. If she showed a sign of weakness, then her mother would also suffer. She did not want that, so throughout the entire time that her older brother was thought to be dead, she held all of the sadness and weaknesses inside her.

Now, she did not have to pretend to be strong.

"You did really well, Ley. Thank you," Can whispered as he caressed his sister's back to comfort her.

Can understood Ley's personality. He was thankful that his sister was able to endure this period of hardship in the family, especially for their mother who must have it the hardest. Now, Can owed his sister once again.

The two stayed in their position for some time. After Ley finally calmed down, Can looked at her sister and wiped her remaining tears.

"How are you and mom?" Can asked calmly.

Ley took a deep breath and looked into Can with her red eyes, "After we found out your death, we didn't really know what to do. We were devastated. But compared to me, mom had it worse. She was depressed. She would always cry in her bed every night. Her health quickly deteriorated and I had to take her to the hospital. Thankfully, she recovered, but she's not the same anymore."

Can's heart ached more after hearing Ley. He never wanted to hurt his mother this way. He knew how fragile his mother was when it comes to their family. When their father died, their mom went through depression also. When she recovered, she became more attached and protective towards the two of them.

"We should go to her room right now and tell her you're alive!" Ley grabbed Can's hand.

"Ley, let mom rest first. I'm sure she was tired from work today. Let's just surprise her this morning when she wakes up, hm?" Can suggested with a gentle smile.

Ley thought it was a great idea so she nodded and finally let go of his brother's hand.

"I'm going to explain everything during breakfast. And about breakfast, I'm going to cook, but help me out," Can continued.

"Ohh...Ok," Ley happily smiled.

Can, out of habit, patted Ley's head.

After the conversation between the two, Ley's attention was diverted to the person lying in her older brother's bed.

"What were you doing earlier with Tin? How is he in your bed?" Ley asked as her mind became filled with sudden inappropriate thoughts.

Sensing that his sister was thinking something ridiculous, he immediately replied, "It's...It's not what you think. He knew I was coming, so he visited me. I-I was just helping him right now because of his injury."

Truth to be told, he was not sure how Tin knew that he was going to visit home tonight.

Ley felt that Can was being defensive, so she continued to investigate, "Clearly, I saw that you were on top of him. How would that help him with his injury? What kind of help are you giving him?"

Can suddenly became embarrassed as he suddenly remembered some indecent thoughts about Tin while he was unconscious, "I-I'm just wiping his sweat. The potion that he took was strong, so he sweated a lot...so...I had to wipe..I didn't do anything aside from wiping...."

"Why are you turning red then?" Ley teased as her smile became bigger.

"It's hot! Yes, that's it. It's hot. I need to turn on the electric fan, so we have more cold air in the room," Can hastily replied as he went to turn on the electric fan that was close to his bed.

Ley shook her head. This brother of his surely did something to Tin.

When she approached Tin, who was still unconscious, she saw his missing left arm.

In horror, she looked away and asked, "What happened to his left arm?"

After turning on the fan, Can replied unhurriedly as he looked at Tin's more relaxed expression, "I'm not sure."

Can then faced Ley and said with reassurance, "Don't worry, he'll recover."

"Re-really?" Ley asked in disbelief.

Can nodded with a smile.

After their small talk, Can asked his sister to rest for now so that she would have the energy to help him cook.

"How about you?" Ley asked as she was hesitant to leave.

"I'm okay. I still need to look after Tin," Can replied.

Ley misunderstood Can's reply. She thought that Can wanted to have some time alone with Tin, so that he could continue whatever it was that they were doing earlier.

"Ah...yes. I get it, I'm leaving now. I'll help you out later." Ley quickly left the two and went to her room to sleep. For the first time, she was able to sleep soundly and peacefully without any worry.

As soon as Ley left the room, Can returned to Tin's side. Wanting to check his health condition, Can took out a magic tool that allowed him to scan a person's health condition. This magic tool looked quite simple. It was like a magic wand made out of wood.

With a flick of his wrist as he held the magic tool, a glowing green colored dot came out from the end of the wand. Scanning Tin's body, Can found that Tin was stable. Although as he continued to scan, he found something incredible and unexpected. Tin has a spiritual core!

Observing closely, Can saw that the spiritual core was different and it has cracks in it. Also, impure spiritual energy seemed to be leaking from the spiritual core.

How did he get a new spiritual core? Why is it damaged?

At the moment, the cracks on the spiritual core were minimal and the impure spiritual energy was somewhat controlled. Still, it has to be fixed. He must ask Tin how he got this kind of spiritual core and help him fix it.

Yawning, Can did not see other problems with Tin after scanning him. Returning his magic tool back to his storage ring, he now realized another dilemma. Where was he going to sleep?

There were no other beds in his room. Of course, he would not dare sleep next to Tin even though he was on his bed. The bed was too small for the both of them even if he decided to sleep next to him. Eventually, he decided that he would sleep downstairs in the small green sofa.

Yet, before he opened the door, he heard Tin's voice. He was talking in his sleep.

"Don't go...don't leave...." Tin said as he became unrelaxed. He felt suffocated while still unconscious.

Quickly, Can sat on the floor next to his bed and held his hand. He realized that Tin was having a nightmare.

"I'm here, it's alright now. I won't leave," Can whispered softly.

Tin tightly grasped Can's hand and with those soothing and reassuring words, Tin became calm once again. The warmth of Can's hand gave Tin security.

Can sighed. Although he was tired, it was nothing compared to being able to help Tin and bringing him comfort. Fearing that Tin might have another nightmare, Can decided to stay by his side the entire night. Nevertheless, fatigue took over and he silently fell asleep while still grabbing onto Tin's hand tightly. Just like Tin, Can did not want him to leave and let go.

When morning came, both Can and Ley were busy cooking food. Tin was still asleep and recovering in Can's room. Meanwhile, their mom was just about to wake up.

As soon as the siblings finished preparing food, Ley called her mom to eat breakfast.

"Ley, what's with the sudden energy that you have? Did something good happen?" Mrs. Rathavit asked as she yawned.

Arriving at the dinner table, she saw different dishes that were quite familiar to her. These dishes were usually prepared by her son: avocado toast with fried egg, ham and cheese hot pocket, omelet waffle, and pancakes. She also noticed that there was an additional plate added to the table. This scene suddenly brought back sad memories. Did Ley make this?

"Do we have a visitor?" Mrs. Rathavit asked Ley as she slowly grabbed one ham and cheese hot pocket from the plate.

"No, not really. Mom, go ahead and eat it," Ley smiled happily.

Mrs. Rathavit looked at her daughter and was baffled. Nonetheless, she took a bite of the hot pocket. When she tasted the flavor of the food, she could not help it, but remember her son. Soon, tears were building up in her eyes.

"How are they, mom?" Can said gently as he smiled behind his mother.

Mrs. Rathavit froze for a moment as she put the piece of hot pocket back to her plate. She quickly turned around and saw Can. Seeing her son once again, Mrs. Rathavit could not believe it at first. Yet, when she looked at Ley and saw her nodding and crying, it was then confirmed that Can was actually alive.

"Ahh Can! My son! You're alive! Thank God!" Mrs. Rathavit could not contain herself as she started shouting in joy. She then quickly grabbed Can and hugged him tightly.

"I missed you so much!" Mrs. Rathavit said with so much enthusiasm.

"Me too, mom. I missed you so much," Can replied with indescribable happiness.

Ley shortly joined her family and the three did a group hug for a long time. There were tears, but they were tears of happiness. That moment was quite precious for the three. A priceless treasure.

When the three calmed down a bit, they happily and unhurriedly continued their discussion as they ate breakfast. It was as if that they went back to normal like nothing bad has happened at all.

While they were catching up, they did not notice a person was coming downstairs to join them.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ======
> 
> Hello everyone, another chapter here. Sorry, about a week without an update. I was working on the other fanfic. Anyways here you go! I hope you enjoy!


	64. Chapter 59 - Stop Staring!

As the three were having a lively chat while eating, Tin was slowly walking downstairs.

Earlier when he woke up, Tin panicked when he did not see Can by his side. Even though he was still unwell, he quickly jumped out of the bed to look for him. 

After getting out of the room, he then realized that Can was having his first breakfast with his family for a very long time. It was then Tin calmed himself as he decided to approach them.

With every step that he took downstairs, he could hear the genuine laughter and love of the family that he desired to be part of. He truly missed it.

After reaching the first floor, he looked down at the blue patient gown that he was wearing. He thought that it was not appropriate to show up like this.

With a wave of his hand, his attire changed in an instant. He now wore an elegant black suit and black shoes. He thought that this should be appropriate enough to wear. Whether it was too extravagant or not, he did not think too much about it, since it was better to wear a black suit than a hospital gown.

When he was approaching the kitchen where the Rathavit family was eating breakfast, Tin hesitated. He realized that he was a fugitive. Everyone knew about this.

Thinking about this, Tin did not want to ruin Can's family's reunion even if he wanted to join them.

As he turned around to return to Can's bedroom to wait for him, his footsteps due to his shoes were heard.

Hearing it, Ley was the first one to react, "Is that Tin?"

Not waiting for Can to reply, she immediately came out of the kitchen to look for Tin. Seeing that Tin was about to go upstairs with a subtle unhappy expression on his face, Ley approached him.

"Huh? wait, Ley!" Can said in a surprised tone as he stood up from his seat and followed his sister.

"Ley! Can! Where are you going?" Mrs. Rathavit asked with confusion.

Their mother did not move from her seat while she continued chewing on the hot pocket on her hand.

"Tin, why are you going upstairs? Join us for breakfast," Ley said with enthusiasm as she was mesmerized by the black suit that he was wearing although the missing left arm was odd to look at.

Tin saw Ley looking at his left arm with a dispirited look. He then thought that Ley must have known that he was here last night. He had no recollection of what happened that night, but he knew Can was there to take care of him since he felt way better afterwards.

"I don't want to disturb your breakfast. I know that this is a precious moment for your family. I'm only an outsider," Tin said. Those words he uttered hurt him, but it was the truth.

"Who said you're an outsider?" Can said as he gazed at the man wearing a black suit.

"Can..?" Tin whispered as he looked back at the male youth. His eyes widened in surprise. He still could not believe that Can was still alive and well. Seeing the person whom he desired so much, no one could not imagine how much Tin would like to just take Can away and keep him to himself. Unfortunately, he could not convey these feelings with his family around.

"Yeah. yeah. That's right! Aren't you part of our family already? I mean...you and Can have done it right?" Ley said happily as she tugged Tin towards the kitchen.

Both Can and Tin were confused. What does she mean by "They have done it?"

Still, Tin continued to protest.

"Aren't you afraid? I'm a fugitive?" Tin interrupted.

"A fugitive?" Can asked. How did Tin become a fugitive?

"Mother and I knew that you're innocent. We know that you have a lot of enemies who try to destroy you, but we trust you," Ley explained as he continued to pull Tin to the kitchen. She still remembered how Tin used to buy expensive gifts for them. She also remembered how Tin made it possible for her mother and her to have a vacation trip to Japan. More importantly, she knew how much Tin cared about them especially towards Can. Overall, he was a nice person despite how other people see him.

Yet, even if the Rathavit family does not trust the words of his enemies, it did not mean that Tin has not committed a crime. He wondered how would they react if they knew the horrible things that he did in the past. Would they still accept him?

Not resisting anymore, Tin let Ley drag him to the kitchen. There was a smile on his face while still staring at Can. 

"Wait, Ley. Don't be rude. Don't pull him!" Can worriedly said.

Unfortunately, Ley seemed to ignore him while she continued to drag Tin.

When they arrived, Mrs. Rathavit, who was listening to the conversation that her children had with Tin, immediately stood up. She quickly approached Tin and hugged him.

"Ahh Tin, you're back too. It's been a long time! It's nice to see you!" Mrs. Rathavit joyfully said.

Tin was not sure how to react, but he felt the same as Mrs. Rathavit. It was nice to see them too.

Despite what happened, Can's family still welcomed him with open arms.

Mrs. Rathavit noticed the missing left arm on Tin, but she did not ask him as not to make him uncomfortable.

"Here sit! Sit! There's plenty of food. Can cooked food for us." Immediately, Mrs. Rathavit placed another plate, a glass full of water, spoon, and fork on the table for Tin. She then told her children to sit too.

Ley and Can nodded and went back to their seats.

Tin still felt some doubts within him, but somehow Mrs. Rathavit sensed it.

"I know a lot of things have happened, but for now let's just enjoy this meal together," Mrs. Rathavit said softly.

Tin looked at her with a smile. "Thank you."

"Alright, let's eat, let's eat before they get cold," Mrs. Rathavit continued as she went back to her seat.

Everyone resumed eating. Sitting next to him, Can asked Tin, "How are you feeling Tin?"

Tin faced Can with a smile on his face, "Never felt better."

He suddenly leaned closer to Can as he whispered seductively, "I'll make sure to reward you handsomely in return."

Can who was eating fried egg suddenly choked from what he heard. He quickly grabbed a glass full of water and drank it. 

Both his mother and sister looked at one another silently. Their relationship was already at that point?

Tin grabbed some hot pockets and slightly smirked as he took a bite. Still, he continued to direct his gaze towards Can.

Calming down, Can attempted to ignore Tin as he continued to eat. He was going to ask about how Tin became a fugitive, but he thought it was inappropriate at the moment.

"Ohh, I just remembered. Tin how did you know Can was here?" Can's mother asked.

When they heard this, Can was curious as well. Last night he explained to Ley that he(Tin) knew that he(Can) was here, but in reality, he(Can) did not even know how Tin knew the fact that he(Can) was visiting his(Can's) family last night.

As Can, Ley, and their mother started drinking water simultaneously while waiting for Tin to reply, the man in question said without any hesitation as he continued to smile, "We're connected, so naturally I knew where he'd be."

While he was saying this, he moved his right hand to Can's left thigh.

"PUUUHHHFFFTT!"

Tin looked at the three who spit the water from their mouth. After spitting the water, the trio started choking for a few seconds.

Mrs. Rathavit was the first one to reply, "Ahh I," coughs again, "I see."

She tapped her chest multiple times to calm down.

Meanwhile, after coughing, Ley seemed to have a nosebleed. Tin's way of saying that he and Can were together was so freaking cool! He was so cool that it made her nosebleed.

As not to worry everyone about her nosebleed, she excused herself to go to the bathroom.

Can seemed to have the best reaction so far. He could not hide his embarrassment as he became uncomfortable from his seat. He tried to hide his discomfort by putting more food on his plate. Yet, he did not realize that he was as red as a tomato and his actions were clumsy.

Tin, on the other hand, was amused at seeing everyone's reaction especially Can's reaction.

Taking this opportunity, he further teased Can by squeezing his thigh.

"Eep!" Can jolted from his seat as if some snake bit him.

Tin then removed his hand from Can's thigh and resumed eating his hot pocket.

"Are you alright, Can?" Tin asked with a concerned face.

Can, all of a sudden, became displeased. He looked at Tin with slight irritation. This was your fault! Why are you acting like this? Stop it!

"Can? What's wrong?" Mrs. Rathavit continued.

"No, nothing. Everything's alright. I was just surprised. That's all," Can smiled as he faced his mother.

There was a light chuckle that left Tin. Can heard this and although he was slightly annoyed, the moment that he saw Tin smile again, it made him happy too.

Still, throughout their breakfast meal, Can could not help it, but notice the unending stare from Tin. He tried to ignore it at first, but somehow, the more that he tried to ignore it, the more he got affected. Tin's gaze was penetrative. It was as if he did not want him to leave his sight at all.

When Can would look at Tin back, Tin would not say anything and he would just continue to stare at him. It was like a staring contest, but Can would always lose.

Can would ask "Is there anything you want?" or "What is it?" to make Tin stop staring at him or ask what it was he wanted from him. Unfortunately, Can would only get a shake of the head from Tin. His stare was driving Can crazy, but he could not do anything about it!

Soon, after the wonderful and somewhat awkward breakfast, Mrs. Rathavit was the first one to ask, "Can, could you explain what exactly happened to you back in the Beast Gods' Dimension?"

When Tin heard this, he could not help it, but slightly tense. He wanted to figure out the truth from Can himself. Aside from this, he wanted Can to tell him himself the people involved in his disappearance, so that he could avenge him.

Taking a deep breath, Can tried to calm himself down, but he was still slightly nervous. He did not want to worry everyone when he explained what happened.

Similar to what others have already said to Tin and the Rathavit family, Can mentioned how Ae was manipulated and attacked him. In Can's narrative though, he did not mention that he was killed as not to further complicate things for Ae and his(Can) family. He just mentioned that he was heavily wounded and Bacsojin helped him recover. Then from there, he mentioned the flying beast Gryphon that took him away,  Xu Xian, the Beast God Pond,  the ownership of the dimension, and the treasures that they took. He also mentioned the amount of money that he received during the recent auction.

Ley and Mrs. Rathavit were amazed as their jaws drop at Can's story that seemed to be a dream. Of course, they were happy that Can did not die and was able to survive and thrive. They did not expect that Can would have such a once in a lifetime wonderful encounter. Can is truly gifted and lucky!

Meanwhile, Tin's reaction was still the same. He thought that Can was hiding something.

He interrupted, "Do you know who or what manipulated Ae to do such a thing to you?"

Even if Can said that it was not Ae's fault, he was not remorseful of what Tin did to him. He thought that the repayment that he did was not even enough.

Can faced Tin and answered with a weak smile, "I...I don't know."

Tin judged Can's reaction and knew that he was lying. Can knew who or what it was that did the manipulation, but he was not saying the truth. This made Tin annoyed and angry, but he did not let these feelings show. He just tightened his fist. Why would Can hide the truth from him? Does he not trust him?

"Then that means that the culprit must be still around?" Tin continued as his anger increased. Due to this, his mind became unstable which caused the impure spiritual energy inside him to be, once again, slightly out of control.

"That..that's true, but don't worry. I have Legendary to Mythic rarity defensive and offensive treasures. I also recently became a Tier 4 Rainbow Grade Beast Summoner. It would be impossible for the culprit to harm me that easily," Can explained.

The little beast summoner knew who it was that did the manipulation, but he thought it was not his place to confess. He would let the culprit decide instead.

Quickly, Can tried to change the topic, "Speaking of Legendary and Mythical treasures, let me show them to you! I'll also show you the portal to the Beast Gods' Dimension too!"

Thankfully, he was successful at diverting his family's attention as he showed Legendary and Mythic magical tools at his hands. Yet, he did not know that Tin was still stuck on the topic of the culprit that Can was trying to hide.

Tin's eyes were slowly being coated with black color as he stared intensely at Can.

"You'll tell me the truth, Can, even if I have to force you," Tin said to himself. 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> =======
> 
> Hello, everyone another chapter. I hope you guys enjoy. See you next week!


End file.
